Sexual Wellness Outcomes Associated with Experiences of Stealthing

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction Sexual violence is alarmingly common and associated with negative health outcomes, including higher rates of sexually transmitted infections, greater likelihood of substance misuse, and poorer sexual functioning. More than one-third of men report using coercive condom use resistance tactics – including nonconsensual condom removal (i.e., “stealthing”) – to obtain unprotected sex. Women who experience stealthing report less confidence in refusing unwanted sexual advances and less sexual agency, which may increase risk for future victimization and reduced sexual wellbeing overall. While much work has linked other forms of sexual violence to sexual dysfunction, little is known about sexual functioning in the context of stealthing, which limits the utility of clinical interventions to improve survivors’ sexual wellness and prevent revictimization. Objective To analyze the relationships between a history of stealing and correlates of sexual functioning and wellness. Methods We surveyed 265 women from a large university in the Midwestern U.S. (Mage = 19.8) and ran linear models assessing the relationship between any history of stealthing and sexual wellness correlates including sexual pleasure, functioning, desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, pain, shame, pleasure deservingness, and assertiveness. All models controlled for participants’ lifetime number of sexual partners. Results Overall, the effects of stealthing were strongest in women with more lifetime sexual partners. A history of stealthing was significantly and positively associated with solitary and partnered pleasure, sexual desire, arousal, lubrication, and feelings of pleasure deservingness. Notably, sexual shame was the only associated negative outcome. Conclusions Results suggest the relationship between a history of stealthing and greater reported sexual wellness may be a function of greater exposure to sexual activity overall. Increased exposure to sexual activity is related to increased communication about sexual needs and desires. It is possible that sexual shame was uniquely correlated with stealthing because stealthing may be viewed as a more ambiguous form of sexual violence by survivors and thereby increase risk for survivors’ self-blame. Alternatively, increased sexual shame may be related to reduced sexual self-efficacy and thus increase risk for victimization. Future analyses should examine specific contexts in which stealthing is associated with increased sexual distress and potential mediators such as sensation-seeking and positive coping skills. Overall, these results highlight the need for further research and increased communication on coercive condom use resistance tactics and their relation to sexual correlates, in particular, sexual shame. Disclosure No