Dissociation During Sex and Sexual Arousal in Women With and Without a History of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Women with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) experience dissociative symptoms and sexual difficulties with greater frequency than women without a history of CSA. Current models of sexual dysfunction for sexual abuse survivors suggest that dissociation may mediate the relationship between CSA and sexual arousal difficulties. Dissociation, however, is often conceptualized as a single construct in studies of CSA and not as separate domains as in the dissociation literature. In the present study, women with (CSA, N = 37) and without (NSA, N = 22) a history of CSA recruited from the community were asked to indicate the frequency and intensity of their experience in two dissociation subgroups, derealization and depersonalization, during sex with a partner and in their daily life. Findings showed that, in the NSA group, more depersonalization during sex with a partner was associated with lower sexual arousal functioning. However, for both the NSA and CSA groups, more derealization during sex was associated with higher sexual arousal functioning. No measure of dissociation was significantly associated with sexual responses in the laboratory. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between different forms of dissociation (i.e., derealization and depersonalization) in the study of sexual arousal functioning. In addition, the findings challenge the notion that dissociation is a main predictor of sexual arousal problems in survivors of CSA and suggest that a more nuanced relationship may exist.