It turns out that any forms of violence experienced in childhood shape not only our character and behavior, but also sexual fetishes.
Former victims of violence in adulthood are prone to sadomasochism. This discovery was made by clinical psychologists from New York University (USA), the Free University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and the University of Belgrade (Serbia), whose article in Sexology magazine.
The researchers conducted an anonymous online survey of 1219 people. Participants were asked about the psychological, physical, and sexual abuse they experienced as children. Almost 59% of respondents experienced psychological violence, almost 21% experienced physical violence, and 10,6% experienced sexual violence.
In addition, all participants underwent standard psychological testing for masochism and sadism.
People with masochistic preferences responded positively to questions like «Have you ever experienced sexual arousal while imagining that someone puts you down or treats you badly?» or «Have you ever experienced sexual arousal while imagining someone hurting you?»
Participants with sadistic tendencies answered “yes” to the questions “Have you ever experienced sexual arousal while imagining yourself or someone else hurting another person?” or «Have you ever experienced sexual arousal while imagining that you or someone else is tying up another person?»
The researchers concluded that childhood abuse, primarily sexual abuse, is associated with a high degree of sadomasochism. Moreover, especially extreme forms of sadism and masochism are widespread among those who encountered sexual abuse at an early age.
At the same time, people who experienced psychological abuse in childhood often prefer milder versions of sadomasochism, and physical abuse is least associated with a tendency to this form of sexual perversion.