Is My Sex Life Ok? The Mediating Role of Sexual Anxiety in the Association between Childhood Sexual Abuse and Sexual Coercion against Women

ABSTRACT

Empirical studies suggest that childhood sexual abuse is associated with sexual revictimization by a male romantic partner in female survivors. Yet, the potential mechanisms underlying this association remain understudied. Past studies indicated that women childhood sexual abuse survivors report more sexual anxiety, which in turn was linked to an increased risk of sustaining sexual coercion. The current study, conducted with a sample of 448 adult women from the community, aimed to examine sexual anxiety as a potential mechanism in the association between childhood sexual abuse and sexual coercion sustained by women in heterosexual romantic relationships. Results from path analyses confirmed the indirect effect of sexual anxiety in the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and sexual coercion victimization. Findings indicated that childhood sexual abuse is associated with higher levels of sexual anxiety, which in turn, was linked to a higher frequency of sexual coercion experiences perpetrated by the romantic partner. This study contributes to a better understanding of the determinants of sexual violence against women and provides an empirical basis to better inform prevention initiatives and guide future interventions.

KEYWORDS:

• Childhood sexual abuse
• sexual anxiety
• sexual coercion
• intimate partner sexual violence
• sexual revictimization
• violence against women

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank all the women who participated in the study and the research personnel of the Trauma and Couple Research Intervention Unit (TRACE).

Disclosure of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to report.

Ethical standards and informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards the Human Research Review Committee of the Université du Québec à Montréal, and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all participants for being included in the study. No identifying information about participants was included in the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the The Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS) [# 29051].

Notes on contributors

Marianne Girard

Marianne Girard, M.A., is a doctoral student in Sexology at the Université du Québec à Montréal. She is a research assistant at the Trauma and Couple Research Intervention Unit (TRACE), Montreal, QC.

Caroline Dugal

Caroline Dugal, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and postdoctoral fellow at the Research Laboratory on Couple and Sexuality at the Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC.

Martine Hébert

Martine Hébert, Ph.D., is a professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal, the Tier I Canada Research Chair in Interpersonal Traumas and Resilience, and co-holder of the Marie-Vincent Interuniversity Chair in Child Sexual Abuse, Montreal, QC.

Natacha Godbout

Natacha Godbout, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and professor in the department of sexology at the Université du Québec à Montréal. She is the director of the Trauma and Couple Research Intervention Unit (TRACE), Montreal, QC, and a Research Scholar funded by Fonds du Québec-Santé.