Exploring the Role of Child Sexual Abuse and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Gay and Bisexual Men Reporting Compulsive Sexual Behavior

• NCJ Number: 240766
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 36 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2012 Pages: 413-422
• Author(s): Leah M. Blaine; Fred Muench; Jon Morgenstern; Jeffrey T. Parsons
• Date Published: May 2012
• Length: 10 pages
• Grant Number(s): U62 CCU217852
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health; Ctr's for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Using a sample of 182 gay and bisexual men who reported symptoms of child sexual abuse (CSA), this study examined the uniqueness of the link between child sexual abuse (CSA) and subsequent compulsive sexual behavior (CSB).

Abstract

The findings support the hypothesis that CSA is uniquely linked to CSB symptoms compared with other forms of child maltreatment; men with a CSA history were likely to present more severe clinical co-morbidities. CSA prevalence was high in the tested sample (39 percent), and CSA severity was a unique predictor of CSB symptoms; child physical and emotional abuse, as well as poly-victimization were not significantly linked to CSB symptoms. Contrary to hypotheses, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) did not significantly mediate the role of CSA severity, although PTSD symptoms explained additional variance in CSB symptoms, with the final model accounting for 27 percent of the variance in CSB symptoms. In addition, men with a CSA history reported more CSB, depressive, and anxiety symptoms than those without a history of CSA. Further research is needed to clarify the likely complex pathways to CSB in an effort to inform treatment options. The authors hope that the inclusion of hypersexual disorder in DSM-V will provide a unifying framework for the study of CSB and assist in advancing treatment options for individuals manifesting its complex symptoms. The Compulsive Sexual Behavior Inventory measured control over sexual activity and other aspects of problematic sexual behavior, including sexual abuse and violence. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire assessed childhood trauma in five areas, three of which were used in the current analyses. The Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale measured the presence and severity of PTSD symptoms, and the Beck Depression Inventory-II assessed the cognitive and somatic symptoms of depression over the last 7 days. 5 tables and 48 references