The laboratory is pleased to announce the publication of a new article by our director, Dr. Sophie Bergeron, and her collaborators, which examines how profiles of childhood maltreatment within couples are associated with their sexual health over a one-year period.
This study, conducted with 885 couples, examined different forms of childhood maltreatment, including physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, as well as physical and psychological neglect experienced by both partners. It also examined their sexual satisfaction, sexual distress, and sexual function at different time points: at the beginning of the study, at 6 months, and at 12 months.
The results identified five profiles of couples. They show that couples who had experienced little childhood maltreatment had better sexual health over time, whereas couples in which one partner had experienced neglect or sexual abuse saw their sexual satisfaction and sexual function decrease and their sexual distress increase.
These results highlight the importance of considering the role of any childhood maltreatment experiences of both partners to better understand sexual health trajectories in adulthood. They also highlight the importance of examining childhood neglect, a form of maltreatment that has been less studied than sexual abuse in the context of sexual health.
Congratulations to Sophie and her collaborators on this publication! To learn more, the full article is available here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41259718/
Photo credit: Ron Lach on Pexels
