title: Assessment of self-efficacy to employ self-initiated pornography use-reduction strategies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study evaluated several psychometric properties of a newly developed questionnaire designed to assess individuals' self-efficacy (from 0% to 100%) to employ self-initiated cognitive-behavioral strategies intended to reduce the frequency and duration of their pornography use.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a web-based data collection procedure, we recruited 1298 male users of pornography to complete questionnaires assessing hypersexuality, pornography use history, and general self-efficacy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Based on a principal component analysis and examination of inter-item correlations, we deleted 13 items from the initial pool of 21 strategies. The resulting 8-item questionnaire had excellent internal consistency reliability, and a moderate mean inter-item correlation considered indicative of unidimensionality. In support of criterion validity, self-efficacy to employ use-reduction strategies was significantly associated with the frequency with which participants used pornography, with scores on a measure of hypersexuality, and with the number of times one had attempted to cut back using pornography. In support of discriminant validity, we found that pornography use-reduction self-efficacy scores were not strongly correlated with general self-efficacy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both researchers and clinicians could use this questionnaire to assess pornography users' confidence to employ self-initiated strategies intended to reduce the duration and frequency with which they use pornography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, United States; New England Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Centers, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, United States; Yale University, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Substance Abuse, United States. Electronic address: shane.kraus@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Shane W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kraus
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, United States.
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, United States.
authors.forename: Carolyn J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Tompsett
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D004882:Erotica / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Coping skills; Hypersexuality; Pornography; Self-efficacy