The following questions are excerpted and adapted from
Hope and Recovery-A Twelve Step Guide for Healing From Compulsive Sexual
Behavior. These questions do not constitute a standardized test
designed to diagnose addiction. Those who answer yes to many of these
questions will find that they have common experiences with pornography
addicts. It is the hope of the authors of these questions that those who
answer "Yes" to any of these questions will carefully consider the effects
their sexual thoughts and behaviors have on their lives today. Those who do
have concerns about their sexual thoughts and behaviors need to know that
they can get help and support.
Yes No
Do you sense that your sexual thoughts and/or
behaviors are causing problems in your life?
Have sexual thoughts interfered with your ability
to function at work or at school?
Do you worry that your sexual thoughts and/or
behaviors are more powerful than you are?
Do you sometimes think that you are the only person
who has certain sexual thoughts or engages in certain sexual
behaviors?
Do you fail to meet commitments or fail to carry
out responsibilities because of your involvement with pornography?
Do you struggle to control or completely stop your
thinking about or viewing pornography?
Do you view pornography in order to escape, deny,
or numb your feelings?
Do you think about sex more than you would like to?
Do you spend more money than you can afford to
spend on pornography?
Does it seem as though there is another person or
force inside of you that drives you to pornography?
Do you have two standards of fidelity -- one for
yourself and one for your spouse or partner?
Do you feel empty or shameful after viewing or
masturbating using pornography?
Have you ever promised yourself that you would
never again view pornography?
Do you use pornography to deal with, deny, or avoid
problems in your life?
Do you risk legal problems in order to view
pornography?
Do you anxiously anticipate or fear trips out of
town because of what you think you might do sexually while you're
away?
When you
have child care responsibilities, do you put a higher priority on
masturbating or being sexual than you do on the welfare of the child(ren) in
your care?
Do your sexual thoughts and/or behaviors interfere
with your spiritual or religious life?
Do your sexual thoughts and/or behaviors cause you
to believe that you don't deserve to have a religious or spiritual
life?
Have you lost a job or risked losing a job because
of your involvement with pornography?
Do you scan printed material (novels, newspapers,
magazines) or change channels on the television set just to find
something that will stimulate you sexually?
Do you regularly view pornography or engage in
fantasies involving self-abuse or other kinds of physical abuse?
Do you dig through other people's garbage to find
pornography?
Would you rather masturbate than be sexual with a
partner?
Do you drive around unfamiliar neighborhoods
(cruise) hoping to find places where pornography is available?
Do you look at pornography or masturbate while
driving?
Have you replaced a collection of pornographic
material after destroying one collection and vowing never to
purchase pornography again?
Has an important relationship in
your life ended because of your inability to stop looking at pornography?