Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the different categories of males within two groups, namely a community male sample who engaged in online sexual activities (OSAs) and a subclinical male sample who were out of control in viewing pornography and had sought help. Additionally, the study aimed to determine the threshold for excessive OSAs in both samples. Methods A total of 568 community adult males who engaged in OSAs and 567 adult males seeking help for pornography use were recruited online. A latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify potential profiles within the samples. Cut-point analyses were conducted to determine optimal cutoff scores for OSAs in each sample. Results The LPA revealed two categories with different cutoff scores for OSAs within each sample. Excessive OSA can be a screening tool for detecting out-of-control behavior. More stringent criteria for identifying excessive OSAs can aid in distinguishing problematic pornography use (PPU) from impaired control in viewing sexually-explicit materials (SEMs). Two subcategories of loss of control emerged: high OSAs frequency impaired control and high viewing SEMs impaired control. Conclusion The threholds of excessive OSAs varies among community and sub-clinical male samples; this knowledge can assist in screening out individuals with impaired control and selecting individuals with PPU from the subclinical sample.
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