The Sexuality of Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors

ABSTRACT

In this grounded theory study, a theoretical framework that depicts the process by which childhood sexual abuse (CSA) influences the sexuality of women and men survivors was constructed. Data were drawn from interview transcripts of 95 men and women who experienced CSA. Using constant comparison analysis, the researchers determined that the central phenomenon of the data was a process labeled Determining My Sexual Being, in which survivors moved from grappling with questions related to the nature, cause, and sexual effects of the abuse to laying claim to their own sexuality. Clinical implications are discussed.