I had a strange childhood, not abusive... really the opposite...

As I was growing up my mother and father were both lovely when I was young, but then they moved me to another school, forcing me to be in an all girls school after a mixed one. I hated it, and wept every night when I was 8. Then, as I got older, about 14-16 my mother moved towards christianity and turned very strict (protestant). At first I didn't mind, but when she began to be at church all the time I stopped wanting to please her. Her strict beliefs turned me away from that faith and I began to hate having any part of it. She went through my books and such and threw away anything thing she though could be anti-christian and so I stopped reading at all, for fear she'd realize I wasn't christian, as she checked the backs of all the books I read (I didn't want her to find out I wasn't and force me to church all the time... I knew she wouldn't accept it). Then I turned to writing as an outlet, I wrote sci-fi/fantasy stuff, all innocent, just a way for me to do something, with reading gone (something I loved). She soon found out about this, and banned me from writing anything again... I started to draw and paint, and went on to do art GCSE, but my mother hated the stuff I drew, as my art was non-christian according to her. So I got no praise.. but she could not stop me from doing it at school of course.
I did well at arts, but got no support from my family, and convinced myself I was terrible at it, even after getting A grades at school. My mother and father wanted me to be a doctor, but I hated that, and wanted to be a vet, but they didn't support me at all and I had to organise everything for myself in order to get into University while all my friends parents helped them along.
My mother started to read books about "boundries" in her life, and my father and her drifted appart as she didn't sleep in the same bed as him, and argued all the time. They never got divorced, but to be 15 and to be constantly hearing your parents argue is worse for me.
I started to count down till I could leave home and be free to live a life I wanted, but when I was 16 things got really bad. My best friend was a wiccan, I didn't care at all about that... it's just another religion, however my mother found out. She banned me from seeing her again, and since my other friends were Muslim, I stopped being friends with them too.. so at school I had no friends to talk to, for fear my mother would find out if they weren't christian.
I ended up crying a lot in private, and slit my arm (I can't slit my wrists, I hate it), it made me feel bette. No one ever found out, and very few even know I ever did.
I never had a boyfriend, as my mother only let me go out with 'good christian boys form church' but I wasn't going to date them. I hated myself for many years after. My family ignoring me, and only paying attention to tell me what I was doing wrong, with no friends or a loving family.... I still hate having anything to do with christianity (I don't mind if others are though, but personally I could never step foot in a church). I lived a very oppressive life through my teenage years, with no attention, something you really seek as a child. So, I went to rock concerts and festivals and got drunk and such when I was 15-17... and was always in trouble... with my parents fighting constantly...

Sorry for rambling.. I had to get that out...

I have to say, my need to be dominated doesn't come from that, I think it's almost that with a Dom I can be cared for.... A Dom orders you what to do, and you will inevitably get attention.. this could be a link with me childhood... I'm not sure. I drifted towards being a sub when I was about 13 though...... before the christianity set in... so maybe not.. I'll never know.

I think it depends on past life and what you are like anyway, a mix of both, which all lead to who you are. Ballet (as mentioned before) could make people either a sub, because of it. Or, as said above, you might already be a sub, and thats how you lived through it. Of course, the forcing to be a sub could make you hate being one, and make you a dom... it can go either way..