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Sexual Cognitions in Victims of Childhood and Adolescence/Adulthood Sexual Abuse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2015

Nieves Moyano  and
Juan Carlos Sierra
Nieves Moyano*
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigación, Mente, Cerebro y Comportamiento (CIMCYC) (Spain)
Juan Carlos Sierra
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigación, Mente, Cerebro y Comportamiento (CIMCYC) (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Nieves Moyano. Centro de Investigación, Mente, Cerebro y Comportamiento (CIMCYC). Campus de Cartuja, s/n. 18071. Granada (Spain). E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This study explored the relationship between 1) child sexual abuse (CSA), adolescent/adult sexual abuse (AASA), and both (CSA+AASA), and 2) the frequency of positive and negative sexual cognitions according to their content –intimate, exploratory, dominance, submission, and impersonal– in men and women. We also analyzed the severity of the sexual contact of individuals who had experienced AASA. We assessed a Spanish sample of 228 men and 333 women, aged between 18 and 50 years old. In the sample, 341 individuals reported having experienced some type of sexual victimization (victims group), while 220 individuals reported no victimization (non-victims group). Overall, sexual victims reported a higher frequency of positive sexual cognitions compared to non-victims, particularly when they had experienced CSA+AASA and the severity of the sexual contact was greater. Men and women who had experienced abuse reported a higher frequency of exploratory cognitions (p < .01). Male victims reported more cognitions of submission (p < .01), whereas female victims reported more cognitions of dominance (p < .05), which indicates lack of congruence with traditional gender roles. Finally, only intimate cognitions (p < .001) were experienced as negative by male victims. We discuss the relevance of the findings for therapeutic interventions with sexual abuse victims.

Keywords

sexual victimizationsexual abusesexual cognitionsgender
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 18 , 2015 , E47
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2015 

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