Silenced by Betrayal: The Path from Childhood Trauma to Diminished Sexual Communication in Adulthood

Betrayal traumas (Freyd, 1996), abuses that violate trust or dependency, predict numerous negative outcomes, including dissociation and revictimization (DePrince & Freyd, 2007; Gobin & Freyd, 2009; Goldsmith, Freyd, & DePrince, 2012). No previous empirical research examines the relation between betrayal and sexual health, including dissociation during sex. This article addresses this gap with 2 studies, which provide support for a multiple mediation model where high betrayal in childhood predicts worsened sexual communication in adulthood through trait dissociation and sexual dissociation in serial. In both studies, the direct path between betrayal and sexual communication was nonsignificant; only when accounting for trait dissociation overall and sexual dissociation in particular does childhood betrayal predict diminished communication with sex partners in adulthood.