Traumatic Sexuality After Intrafamilial Sexual Abuse: a Case Report With Compulsive Sexual Behaviour

Abstract

Intrafamilial child sexual abuse is one of the most diffucult issue to be talked over and studied. All instances of abuse are not recognized or reported because of shame and guilt feelings, or hidden from other family members. It can lead to both immediate and long-term adverse behavioral and psychological effects that carry over into adulthood. A causal model identifying rehationship among sexual abuse situation characteristics, based on Finkelhor and Browne's traumagenic model of childhood sexual abuse has four traumatic dynamics, including traumatic sexuality with abuse, feeling of betrayal, weakness and stigmatization. Traumatic sexuality can be defined as deviation of the development of sexual feelings and attitudes from normal. The documented long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse on adult functioning include affective disorders, self destructive behaviors, posttraumatic stress disorder and disturbed interpersonal relationships. In this article, we present a case with sexual obsessions and compulsive sexual behaviours, which developed after intrafamilial sexual abuse.