Symptoms of depression (not anxiety) mediate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors in men.

OBJECTIVE

Childhood sexual abuse is associated with compulsive sexual behavior, depression, and anxiety in men. Furthermore, both depression and anxiety have been linked to compulsive sexual behaviors. However, whether anxiety and depression mediate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors has yet to be tested. We investigated whether symptoms of depression and anxiety mediate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors in 222 men seeking treatment for such behaviors.

METHODS

Participants completed the Sexual Compulsivity Scale, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Anxiety Inventory. A cross-sectional parallel mediation analysis was conducted.

RESULTS

The prevalence of childhood sexual abuse in our sample was 57%. Significant correlations were found between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors, depression, and anxiety. The results of the mediation analyses suggested that depression (B = 0.07, standard error [SE] = 0.03, 95%CI 0.02 to 0.15), but not anxiety (B = 0.02, SE = 0.02, 95%CI -0.2 to 0.07), mediated the link between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors. The pattern of our results remained the same when controlling for other types of childhood trauma.

CONCLUSIONS

Depression, not anxiety, appears to mediate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors in men. Future research that tests our mediation analyses using a prospective longitudinal study would be highly informative.