New research suggests that survivors of childhood sexual abuse who grapple with trauma-related challenges during sexual activities often find their overall relationship satisfaction impacted. Published in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, the study provides insights into the complex relationships between childhood sexual abuse, trauma symptoms, and relationship satisfaction. It underscores the importance of considering sexual well-being in the context of trauma and its impact on relationship outcomes.
The authors behind the new study were particularly interested in better understanding the impacts of sexual-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (also known as traumatized sexuality), which refers to the manifestation of trauma symptoms within the context of sexual activity.
The concept traumatized sexuality “was developed to capture the effects of trauma on an individual’s sexual experiences (e.g., functioning, distress, satisfaction) particularly in relation to experiences of sexual abuse or assault (Gewirtz-Meydan & Lassri, 2023),” explained Ateret Gewirtz-Meydan, an assistant professor at the University of Haifa, who co-authored the new study with her student, Narges Evon Abu-Raya.
“Traumatized sexuality encompasses how such traumatic incidents can disrupt various aspects of sexual well-being, including experiencing dissociation during sexual activity, intrusive memories during intimacy, feelings of shame and guilt regarding different aspects of sex, challenges in prioritizing personal pleasure, and heightened vigilance during sexual encounters.”
“In previous research, we observed that traumatized sexuality distinctly contributes to survivors’ sexual well-being in addition to PTSD. In the current study, we sought to explore whether traumatized sexuality is also associated with survivors’ satisfaction within their romantic relationships.”
The researchers recruited participants from various sources, primarily through social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. They also used a university subject pool (The Sona System) to gather participants. A total of 1,030 individuals participated in the study. Of these, 529 reported being in a current romantic relationship. The study employed several measures to assess different variables related to childhood sexual abuse, trauma symptoms, and relationship satisfaction.
Gewirtz-Meydan and Abu-Raya found that survivors of childhood sexual abuse reported significantly lower relationship satisfaction compared to other participants. This observation corroborates earlier studies that have highlighted the enduring effects of childhood sexual abuse on adult relationships, especially romantic ones. Moreover, these survivors reported significantly elevated levels of both PTSD symptoms and traumatized sexuality.
Both PTSD severity and traumatized sexuality severity were negatively associated with participants’ relationship satisfaction. In other words, individuals who experienced more severe trauma symptoms were more likely to report lower levels of satisfaction with their relationships.
“The study underscores that the presence of sexual-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (i.e., traumatized sexuality) significantly impacts the level of satisfaction experienced by survivors within their relationships,” Gewirtz-Meydan told PsyPost. “This suggests that traumatized sexuality plays a role in shaping the relational aspects of survivors’ lives as well as sexual aspects.”
The researchers also found that traumatized sexuality played a moderating role in the link between childhood sexual abuse and relationship satisfaction. In other words, traumatized sexuality appeared to influence how strongly childhood sexual abuse impacted relationship satisfaction. Childhood sexual abuse most adversely affected relationship satisfaction among those with more pronounced traumatized sexuality symptoms.
What intrigued the researchers was that only traumatized sexuality, and not general PTSD symptoms, moderated the effect of childhood sexual abuse on relationship satisfaction, contrary to their initial assumptions.
“We were somewhat surprised that only traumatized sexuality acted as a moderator between childhood sexual abuse and relationship satisfaction, and that PTSD did not play this moderating role,” Gewirtz-Meydan said. “This points to the possibility that the manifestation of traumatized sexuality, particularly in intimate situations, might exert a stronger effect on relationship satisfaction than PTSD does.”
The researchers controlled for potential confounding variables such as gender, age, and level of education to ensure that the observed associations were not solely due to these factors. Even after accounting for these covariates, the findings related to traumatized sexuality moderating the association between childhood sexual abuse and relationship satisfaction remained consistent.
But “there are still several areas that require further exploration,” Gewirtz-Meydan noted. “Additional research is needed to thoroughly investigate the impact of traumatized sexuality in clinical settings, within couples (using dyadic data), and over extended periods of time (longitudinal studies).”
Nevertheless, the findings emphasize the importance of considering the complex interplay between childhood sexual abuse, trauma symptoms, and their effects on relationship satisfaction.
“This study highlights the critical need to address sexual-related posttraumatic stress symptoms, namely traumatized sexuality, when working with childhood sexual abuse survivors in the context of their romantic relationships,” Gewirtz-Meydan told PsyPost. “Often, clinicians who treat trauma may overlook sexual-related concerns due to the sensitive nature of the topic, and this topic being taboo. However, this study shows that survivors often experience unique sexual concerns that are directly tied to their trauma and that significantly affect their daily lives and overall satisfaction.”
“However, it is also equally important that sex therapists that regularly treat sexual problem, will be well-informed about traumatized sexuality, and recognize that survivors of childhood sexual abuse possess a distinct set of sexual concerns rooted in their traumatic experiences.”
The study, “Childhood Sexual Abuse and Relationship Satisfaction: The Moderating Role of PTSD and Sexual-Related Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms“, was authored by Narges Evon Abu-Raya and Ateret Gewirtz-Meydan.
