Sexual victimization by current partner is negatively associated with women’s sexual satisfaction

Abstract

ABSTRACT Lower sexual satisfaction with one’s current partner (SSCP) has been associated with having a history of sexual victimization experience (SVE). However, whether or not this SVE involved the current partner as the perpetrator has been unclear. This study aimed to address this gap in the sexual health literature by examining women’s SSCP based on SVE with that current partner (yes; no) and/or a different perpetrator (yes; no). A convenience sample of undergraduate women with an exclusive current partner (n = 412; 99 percent unmarried) at a U.S. public university anonymously responded via paper-and-pencil to the Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction and the Sexual Experiences Survey-Short Form Victimization between 2012–2016. A 2 × 2 ANOVA revealed that current-partner SVE was associated with lower SSCP (F (1, 410) = 7.38, p = .007, partial n 2 = .018), but other-perpetrator SVE was not. SVE may predict lower SSCP when victimized by that partner, as that partner may be associated with the negative victimization experience. Although preliminary, findings highlight the importance of considering how partner-related health factors (e.g. SSCP) may be differentially associated with SVE based on whether or not the victim’s current partner was the perpetrator.