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

Abstract

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.