Trauma and sexual disorders. Multicentric investigation of patients with complex posttraumatic stress disorder

Sexual disorders are common among patients with traumatic childhood experiences, especially when they were exposed to sexual abuse. Despite the fact that trauma-associated sexual disorders imply serious consequences for the persons concerned, to date the topic has not found much consideration in the research and clinical contexts. This study investigated the prevalence and relationships of sexual disorders and experiences of sexual abuse in 189 patients (81 % women, 19 % men) with complex posttraumatic stress disorder. All participants completed the Interview zur Diagnostik der komplexen posttraumatischen Belastungsstorung (I-kPTBS, interview on diagnostics of complex posttraumatic stress disorder) and the traumatic antecedents questionnaire (TAQ). At least one sexual disorder was found in 77.2 % of the participants. In both sexes hyposexual disorders were more common than hypersexual disorders. Women showed more hyposexual disorders than men and men showed more hypersexual disorders than women. Of the participants 50.8 % reported experiences of sexual abuse and women were more often affected than men. The presence of hyposexual disorders was clearly associated with the existence of experiences of child sexual abuse. There is a need for research on and effective treatment concepts for trauma-associated sexual disorders. The development of new therapeutic approaches should be realized in interdisciplinary cooperation.