Identification of Nonconsensual Sexual Experiences and the Sexual Self-Schemas of Women: Implications for Sexual Functioning

Archives of Sexual Behavior
Chelsea D KilimnikCindy M Meston

Abstract

Many individuals who experience nonconsensual sexual experiences (NSEs) do not identify their experiences with common sexual violence labels (e.g., sexual assault, rape, or abuse), and cognitive mechanisms of identification have yet to be examined. Identification may involve the integration of the experience into sexual self-schemas, which would have implications for sexual well-being. Women were recruited through Amazon's Mechanical Turk (N = 818) to take part in an anonymous online study of sexual experiences. The current study assessed the relationship between textually derived sexual self-schemas and sexual function (measured by the Female Sexual Function Index) in women (M = 35.37 years, SD = 11.27) with NSEs who both did (identifiers, n = 305) and did not (non-identifiers, n = 176) identify with common sexual violence labels, in comparison with those with no NSEs (n = 337). Text analyses revealed nine sexual self-schema themes in participants' essays: Virginity, Openness, Erotophilia, NSEs, Romantic, Sexual Activity, Warmth, Relationships, and Reflection. Analyses demonstrated that identifiers reported significantly poorer sexual functioning and less use of both the Warmth and Openness themes than those with no NSEs. Iden...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 23, 2019·Archives of Sexual Behavior·Julia VeltenMarcella L Woud
Dec 21, 2021·International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology·Raymond M McKieElke D Reissing
Jan 27, 2022·Journal of Sex Research·Diana E PeragineDoug P VanderLaan

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