Investigating the Relationship of Childhood Traumas and Sexual Guilt with Sexual Addiction in Iranian Prostitutes

Background: Prostitution is a social phenomenon, and its underlying factors require more scholarly attention. This study aimed to investigate the relationship of childhood traumas and sexual guilt with sexual addiction in Iranian prostitutes. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on prostitutes who visited a health promotion center in Khorasan Razavi province, Iran in 2020. A total of 100 women agreed to participate in the study. Data collection tools included the Sexual Addiction Screening Test (SAST), Mosher Sex-Guilt Scale, and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis.Findings: The age of the participants ranged from 23 to 42, with a mean age of 33.54±8.9 years. About 40% of the participants were divorced, 13% were married, 27% were single, and 10% were widows. The findings indicated that 84% of the prostitutes met the criteria for sexual addiction according to SAST. Emotional abuse (r=0.41, P<0.001), physical abuse (r=0.32, P<0.001), sexual abuse (r=0.33, P<0.001), emotional neglect (r=0.52, P<0.001), and physical neglect (r=0.37, P<0.001) had a positive and significant relationship with sexual addiction in prostitutes. There was no correlation between sexual guilt and sexual addiction (r=0.13, P=0.09). Furthermore, the linear regression results showed that emotional neglect was the only variable positively associated with sexual addiction (β=0.5, P<0.001).Conclusion: The findings of this study suggested that childhood traumas can predict sexual addiction in female prostitutes.

Investigating the Relationship of Childhood Traumas and Sexual Guilt with Sexual Addiction in Iranian Prostitutes Keywords:

Prostitutes , Compulsive Behavior , Adverse Childhood Experiences , Guilt