Relational and Trait Factors Mediate the Associations between Women's Intoxication-Related Unwanted Sexual Experiences, Pleasure, and Desire.

Despite documented negative sexual health sequelae of unwanted sexual contact (USC), it is unclear why individuals who have experienced USC within the context of intoxication (intoxication-related USC) are at particular risk for poor sexual functioning. Intoxication-related USC may impact relational factors like relationship satisfaction, as trauma symptoms interfere with emotional closeness during sex. Additionally, although individual traits - such as sexual excitation and sensation seeking - affect the relationship between trauma and sexual functioning, it is unknown whether these factors differentially impact those who have experienced intoxication-related USC. Finally, because presence of a partner may evoke trauma-related symptoms during partnered (dyadic) sexual activity, mediators may differ across solitary versus dyadic sexual pleasure and desire. We tested relational and individual trait mediators of the association between intoxication-related USC and solitary and dyadic sexual pleasure and desire in a sample of heterosexual and sexual minority women. Trait factors consistently mediated the association between intoxication-related USC and both dyadic and solitary desire and pleasure, while relational factors such as emotional closeness were inconsistently related to sexual wellbeing. If replicated, these findings would suggest that trait factors may be useful targets for clinical sexual wellness interventions among sexuality-diverse women who have experienced intoxication-related USC.