Emotional Struggles and Isolation May Fuel Problematic Pornography Use in Korean Men, Study Finds

A new study of 541 Korean men suggests that the path from emotional turmoil to harmful attitudes toward women may run through an unexpected channel: pornography used as a coping mechanism. Published in Trends in Psychology, the research by Sungbum Woo of Hanyang Cyber University in Seoul examines how difficulties in regulating emotions, the tendency to withdraw from social contact, problematic pornography use, and the perpetration of sexual objectification are interconnected. The findings paint a detailed psychological portrait of a sequence in which unmanageable feelings push some men toward compulsive sexual media use, which in turn is associated with a greater tendency to treat others as sexual objects.

The research addresses a growing public health concern. Problematic pornography use—typically defined by loss of control, escalating consumption, and interference with daily functioning—has become increasingly visible in clinical settings as internet access has made explicit material permanently available. At the same time, sexual objectification, in which a person is reduced to a tool for sexual pleasure rather than seen as a full human being, has been linked in prior literature to attitudes that tolerate aggression and inequality. What has been less clear is how these phenomena connect at the level of individual psychology, and whether certain personal traits strengthen or weaken the chain between them.

Woo’s central question concerned emotion regulation, a core concept in contemporary psychology. Emotion regulation refers to the processes by which people influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express them. When these processes fail—when a person cannot calm themselves after a stressful day, tolerate frustration, or make sense of what they are feeling—psychologists describe the result as emotion regulation difficulties. Decades of research, including foundational work on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, have tied such deficits to a wide range of maladaptive behaviors, from substance misuse to disordered eating, because people who cannot manage distress through healthy means often reach for whatever provides fast relief.

In this study, that relief-seeking appeared to take the form of pornography. The data showed that men who reported greater difficulty regulating their emotions were significantly more likely to report problematic patterns of pornography use. This is consistent with the idea that sexual media can serve as a maladaptive coping strategy: an immediately accessible, reliably arousing escape from negative affect such as anxiety, loneliness, shame, or anger. Theoretical frameworks like the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution model of internet-use disorders frame such behavior as the product of a vulnerable person’s emotional state meeting an environment that offers instant gratification, with repeated use gradually reinforcing the habit loop.

But the study did not stop at that first link. A key contribution lies in the role of social withdrawal—the stable tendency to remove oneself from social interaction and to prefer solitude, often accompanied by discomfort in interpersonal settings. The analysis revealed that social withdrawal moderates the relationship between emotion regulation difficulties and problematic pornography use. In practical terms, the statistical association was stronger among men who were highly socially withdrawn. For these men, emotional distress was especially likely to be channeled into solitary sexual media use rather than into interpersonal contact, conversation, or support-seeking that might otherwise defuse negative feelings.

This moderating effect makes theoretical sense. Men who withdraw socially have fewer alternative outlets for emotional relief. They may lack close confidants, avoid professional help—particularly relevant in a cultural context where stigma surrounding mental illness remains substantial in South Korea—and spend more time alone, where the internet is the dominant source of stimulation and comfort. Cultural factors compound the picture: Confucian-influenced norms in East Asia emphasize emotional restraint, self-reliance, and the preservation of face, which can discourage men from expressing vulnerability or seeking psychological support. When emotions cannot be spoken, they may instead be soothed through a screen.

The most consequential finding, however, concerns what happens downstream. Problematic pornography use was itself associated with higher levels of sexual objectification perpetration—behavioral and attitudinal acts of treating women as sexual objects. This aligns with a substantial body of prior research, including meta-analytic work on pornography consumption and sexual aggression risk, and with objectification theory, which describes how exposure to sexualized media can shape the cognitive habit of viewing people through a purely physical, instrumental lens. Men immersed in highly objectifying sexual content, particularly when use has become compulsive and detached from genuine intimacy, may be more likely to apply that lens in everyday perceptions and interactions.

Putting the whole model together, Woo conducted a moderated mediation analysis, a statistical technique that tests whether an indirect pathway from one variable to another through a third variable changes depending on a fourth. The results confirmed the full chain: emotion regulation difficulties were indirectly associated with sexual objectification perpetration via problematic pornography use, and this indirect association was amplified among men high in social withdrawal. In other words, socially isolated men with poor emotional regulation skills face a compounded risk profile—their distress drives them toward solitary compulsive use, and that use connects to greater objectifying behavior toward others.

The author is careful about interpretation. The data are cross-sectional, meaning they capture associations at a single point in time rather than proving that emotion regulation deficits cause pornography problems, or that pornography use causes objectification. Reverse pathways are plausible: men troubled by their own objectifying tendencies may experience shame and distress, prompting both withdrawal and heavier use. Longitudinal and experimental designs will be needed to establish causal direction. Self-report measures also carry the usual limitations of social desirability bias, particularly on sensitive topics such as sexuality and attitudes toward women.

Nevertheless, the practical implications are concrete. The findings suggest that interventions targeting emotional regulation and social functioning—rather than focusing solely on the pornography behavior itself—could reduce the behavioral risks associated with problematic use. Skills-based therapies that teach distress tolerance, emotional awareness, and adaptive coping could address the upstream driver, while efforts to reduce social isolation and encourage help-seeking could remove the amplifying condition. In the specific cultural context of Korean society, where mental health stigma remains a documented barrier, integrating such approaches with destigmatization efforts may be especially important. The study adds to a shifting scientific conversation in which problematic pornography use is understood not merely as a question of moral control or appetite, but as one visible symptom of how individuals manage emotional pain and social disconnection—and how those private struggles can shape the way people treat one another.

Subject of Research: The relationships among emotion regulation difficulties, social withdrawal, problematic pornography use, and sexual objectification perpetration in Korean men

Article Title: The Role of Emotion Regulation Difficulties and Social Withdrawal in Problematic Pornography Use and Sexual Objectification Perpetration Among Korean Men

Article References: Woo, S. (2026). The Role of Emotion Regulation Difficulties and Social Withdrawal in Problematic Pornography Use and Sexual Objectification Perpetration Among Korean Men. Trends in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-026-00534-7

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s43076-026-00534-7

Keywords: emotion regulation difficulties, social withdrawal, problematic pornography use, sexual objectification, Korean men, moderated mediation, maladaptive coping, objectification theory, internet psychology, mental health stigma, South Korea, behavioral addiction