Date
5-16-2024
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education and Supervision (PhD)
Chair
Frederick Volk
Keywords
Childhood Sexual Abuse, Moral Incongruence, Pornography use, Sexual Shame, Compulsivity, Relationship Satisfaction, Self-Compassion
Disciplines
Counseling | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Bosede, Balogun F., "Examining the Correlation between Moral Incongruence, Relationship Satisfaction, Sexual Shame, Perceived Compulsivity, and Self-Compassion among Pornography Users with Childhood Sexual Abuse History" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5548.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5548
Abstract
Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA) remains pervasive, with long-term consequences affecting victims. They are particularly vulnerable to enduring psychological and relational distress, often exacerbated by risky behaviors, including pornography use. When pornography use conflicts with personal morals, it can exacerbate issues like sexual shame and perceived compulsivity, further negatively affecting relationship quality. This study examined the relationship between the moral incongruence of pornography use, compulsivity, sexual shame, and relationship satisfaction and considers self-compassion as a moderating factor. Overall, the study hypothesized that all the relationships would be more significant among victims than non-victims of CSA. A cross-sectional design was utilized for this study. A Qualtrics Survey was employed to recruit participants who have viewed pornography in the last 30 days, are in committed relationships, and are categorized into victims and non-victims of CSA subgroups. The data were analyzed using two correlation matrices, mediation, and moderated mediation models, to explore these relationships. This study supports some existing research; it found a significant relationship between moral incongruence and perceived compulsivity and a significant indirect effect of moral incongruence through sexual shame and perceived compulsivity on relationship satisfaction among non-victims of CSA. It also found a significant negative impact of self-compassion on the interaction of moral incongruence and sexual shame and the interaction between perceived compulsivity and relationship satisfaction. The study bridges a gap in the literature on CSA and proposes future research duplicating this study with a larger dataset. Clinical implications for counselors and counselor educators are discussed.
