2023-11-06 09:39:22
The International University of La Rioja (UNIR) has developed a free and anonymous online program for young people to stop the problematic use of pornography.
According to international studies, some young people have their daily lives affected due to excessive consumption of pornography. This situation occurs specifically between 5% and 14% of adolescents between 14 and 19 years old, due to excessive, compulsive or problematic consumption.
The “Hands-off” program is a website online help to reduce pornography usewhich was developed in English in the Universidad Eötvös Loránd and the Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction.
Now, two researchers from the International University of La Rioja (UNIR) have developed and produced an adaptation in Spanish entitled “How to Leave It” and which has been modified to focus especially on young people between 16 and 24 years old.
In Spain, this initiative is part of the Transfer and Research Institute (ITEI) of the International University of La Rioja, where the Behavioral Addictions Research Group leads the project that has been based on scientific research and is carried out by professionals from different research groups and has the participation of the original authors of the program.
Gemma Mestre-Bach, principal researcher of the Behavioral Addictions Research Group of the International University of La Rioja (UNIR) and Giulia Testa, researcher also of the same research group, explain to us in an interview with EFESalud the operation of this tool that already is available to young people who want to receive therapy in a form online, anonymous and free.
Pornography consumption, more widespread among young people
According to data from a report published by Save the Childrenthe mean age of onset for him
pornography use is twelve years.
However, this report also points out that the age at which children have their first contact with pornography is increasingly younger, specifically between eleven and twelve years old.
“The age of first contact with pornography may be even earlier, since more and more children are accessing the Internet from electronic devices at younger ages,” highlights Gemma Mestre, one of the project’s researchers.
This practice is more common in boys, since studies show that 97.3% of adolescent boys have searched for pornography at some time, compared to 78.3% of girls.
Furthermore, according to Gemma Mestre, in some people, pornography consumption can become a problem that requires clinical attention.
A tool against excessive use of pornography
Who is it intended for and why?
Although many young people, especially boys, suspect that they are spending too much time watching pornography, They don’t know what problems it can cause in their lives on a sexual level.affective and in other areas of behavior.
Many others, however, feel shame or modesty to admit to their parents or guardians that they have a problem with pornography use.
For this reason, the project researchers decided to develop a tool designed by psychologists and psychiatrists specialized in problematic uses of pornography especially for young people.
“We wanted to do the program for young people from 16 years old, because it is the average age at which they no longer have to ask their parents for permission. It seemed like the best option to us because it is as simple as them entering the website themselves,” explains Gemma Mestre.
What is worked on in the program?
The objective is learn the maximum strategies to quit porn over the course of about 6 weeks.
“We work above all with reflection on everything that porn takes away from them or gives them and then we also emphasize identifying risk situations, that is, that each young person knows what leads them to consume in that way,” says Giulia Testa, another of the project’s main researchers.
The “How to Quit” program consists of 6 intervention modules and a reinforcement module. The main idea of the first modules is that young people do not lose motivation to get involved in the intervention.
Specifically in the first module the work is done motivation, we reflect on the pros and cons of consumption… In short, as the researcher explains: “We try to encourage and guide the person towards their change of behavior.” He second module works the risk situations identifying the moments in which young people feel most vulnerable and resort more to using pornography. He third focuses on learning change habits and feel better without that consumption. He room focuses on work on the desire to consume and ways to control it. The fifth module is designed to reflect on emotions. He sixth and last module is developed as a module relapse prevention.
“In it we will try to review the contents a little and plan the development to maintain long-term success,” adds the researcher from the BIND.
Control and research group
Beyond the modules, participants in the program will also have to fill out, each week, a pornography consumption diary to see how much time they have dedicated to it and to analyze how consumption is reducing throughout the program.
This point is important because the program is also presented as a research project. Therefore, young people who can access and sign up through the website may be selected for start with the program immediatelyor go to be part of another group that is waiting during three months.
Once the participants finish the program, the results of their pornography consumption are compared with those of the waiting group. This allows researchers and project designers Find out the effectiveness of the program and continue research.
EFE/Eduardo Abad
What are the advantages of the program?
Help young people face problematic situations (desire to consume, identify and resolve risk situations). It is completely anonymous (no personal information is used). The program is absolutely free.
You will be able to access the program regardless of your location, this website adapts and works well on computers, tablets and mobile phones. What is important is that you take enough time to review all the content.
Psychological and social consequences of pornography among young people
To analyze its links with problems such as sexual assault, low self-esteem or sexual dysfunction, among others, the scientific community considers that it is necessary intensify research in this field, especially in youth population.
In this sense, researcher Giulia Testa recalls that “although the problematic consumption of pornography has not yet been classified as addictive behavior, it can become a problematic behavior and present manifestations to be considered a behavioral addiction.”
“We scientists see social behaviors that could be associated with the problematic use of sexually explicit content, so it is important to continue researching,” adds Testa.
The main objective, concludes the expert, is to be able to address the problem from a complete and professional perspective.
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