Sensory Responsiveness, Sexual Mindful Awareness, and Sexual Satisfaction Among Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Cross-Sectional Mediation Analysis

Previous studies have demonstrated that a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is associated with reduced sexual satisfaction among adult survivors. Recent studies have suggested that survivors of traumatic experiences may display sensory modulation dysfunction, manifested as either over- or under-responsiveness to sensory stimuli. In this study we examined a moderated mediation model according to which: a) the effect of history of CSA on adult sexual satisfaction would be mediated by both high and low sensory responsiveness, and b) these mediation effects would be moderated by sexual mindful awareness. Five-hundred-and-eighty adults completed questionnaires assessing history of CSA, sensory responsiveness, sexual mindful awareness, and sexual satisfaction. As hypothesized, high sensory responsiveness mediated the association between history of CSA and reduced sexual satisfaction. However, sexual mindful awareness moderated this mediation effect, and the indirect effect between history of CSA and sexual satisfaction through the mediation of high sensory responsiveness was significant among individuals with mean and high levels of sexual mindful awareness, but not among those with low levels of sexual mindful awareness. Given the cross-sectional study design, these effects warrant further longitudinal examination. Nevertheless, the findings suggest the need to address sensory modulation dysfunction to promote sexual satisfaction among survivors of CSA.