Problematic consumption of online pornography during the COVID-19 pandemic: clinical recommendations

Trends Psychiatry Psychother. 2021 Jul-Sep;43(3):159-166. doi: 10.47626/2237-6089-2020-0090. Epub 2021 May 21.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is one of the greatest contemporary challenges. Feelings of fear and uncertainty triggered by this pandemic have had noxious effects on people's mental health. This seems to have increased during quarantine and there is evidence of an intensification of reward-directed behavior. Nevertheless, there are few studies dealing with pornography consumption during this period. The aim of this manuscript is to contextualize this phenomenon during the pandemic and suggest some clinical recommendations on the matter.

Keywords: COVID-19; Online pornography; clinical features; mental health; pandemics.

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19* / psychology
  • Erotica* / psychology
  • Fear / psychology
  • Humans
  • Pandemics
  • Quarantine / psychology