Addressing male internet pornography addiction using the virtues of self-control and love

Abstract

Many studies have shown the negative effects that pornography use can have on individuals and intimate relationships. Nevertheless, there is dearth of interventions aimed specifically at treating pornography addiction. Men are usually the target consumers of pornography and their understanding of masculinity has been negatively affected by the increased usage of pornography. Contemporary understandings of masculinity propose a crisis of masculine identity because of the contrasts that emerge between “traditional masculinity” and the more modern view of gender equality. Peter Kleponis has proposed a virtue based treatment for internet pornography that encompasses many different areas of person’s life. This paper proposes specific masculine virtues, self-control and love, that can help when establishing a foundation for recovery in men suffering from internet pornography addiction. To arrive at the role of masculine virtue in recovery, this dissertation draws upon Catholic philosophical and psychological perspectives of the human person, as well as empirically validated theories of psychotherapy.