The Effect of Male Body Dissatisfaction on Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction in the Presence of Pornography Use and Depression

Abstract

There is a well-researched relationship between sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction, and recent literature has explored how body image impacts this relationship. The purpose of this study was to assess the degree to which the body dissatisfaction-sexual satisfaction-relationship satisfaction causal sequence varied at levels of pornography use and depression. Mechanical Turk data from a related study was used to explore three sets of hypotheses for the variables’ relationships. Surprising results prompted the exploration of a three-way interaction outside of the original hypotheses. The exploratory analysis revealed that the moderating impact of pornography use on the relationship between body dissatisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction depends on the level of depression. These findings carry important implications for research and clinical practice.