Date rape and sexual aggression in dating situations: Incidence and risk factors.

In this study we assessed the incidence of and the risk factors for date rape and other forms of male-against-female sexual aggression (SA) in dating situations. Over the course of two semesters, 341 women and 294 men anonymously completed questionnaires. They were asked to describe their most recent date (to provide normative data on dating) and their worst experience with SA during a date, if applicable. We assessed possible risk factors in three ways: (a) For people who had been involved in SA, we compared the characteristics of their SA dates and their recent dates; anything occurring more often on SA dates than on recent dates might be a risk factor. (b) We compared the most recent dates of people who had versus had not experienced SA to identify differences in their date habits. (c) We compared attitudes of people who had versus had not been involved in SA. Results showed that 77.6% of the women and 57.3% of the men had been involved in some form of SA; 14.7% of the women and 7.1% of the men had been involved in unwanted sexual intercourse. Variables that appear to be risk factors are the man's initiating the date, paying all the expenses, and driving; miscommunication about sex; heavy alcohol or drug use; "parking"; and men's acceptance of traditional sex roles, interpersonal violence, adversarial attitudes about relationships, and rape myths. The length of time that dating partners have known each other seems unrelated to the risk of SA. Implications for rape-prevention programs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discriminant analysis of risk factors for sexual victimization among a national sample of college women.

Examined the accuracy with which rape and lesser sexual assaults were predicted among a representative national sample of 2,723 college women. A total of 14 risk variables operationalized three vulnerability hypotheses: (a) vulnerability-creating traumatic experiences, (b) social-psychological vulnerability, and (c) vulnerability-enhancing situations. Each hypothesis was tested individually, and a composite model was developed via discriminant analysis. Only the traumatic experiences variables clearly improved over the base rates in identifying rape victims, but risk variables from each vulnerability hypothesis met criteria for inclusion in the composite model. A risk profile emerged that characterized only 10% of the women, but among them the risk of rape was twice the rate of women without the profile. The concept of traumatic sexualization was used to explain this finding. However, the vast majority of sexually victimized women (75–91%) could not be differentiated from nonvictims. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial sequelae of violent victimization in a national youth sample.

In a national telephone sample of youths aged 10–16 years, over one third reported having been the victims of an assault. Victimized respondents displayed significantly more psychological and behavioral symptomatology than did non victimized respondents (more symptomatology related to post traumatic stress disorder, more sadness, and more school difficulties), even after controlling for some other possible sources of distress. Sexual assault was associated with particularly high levels of symptomatology. However, victims of other forms of assault—nonfamily assaults involving weapons or physical injury (aggravated assaults), assaults by parents, violence to genitals, and attempted kidnappings—also evidenced levels of distress that were not statistically lower than those suffered by victims of sexual assault. The findings suggest that substantial mental health morbidity in the general child and adolescent population is associated with victimization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual Experiences Survey: A research instrument investigating sexual aggression and victimization.

Developed a survey capable of reflecting hidden cases of rape and of documenting a dimensional view of sexual aggression/sexual victimization. This survey examines degrees of coercion used or experienced in sexual activity. Results obtained from 3,862 university students support a dimensional view. The viability of a survey approach to sample selection for future rape research is discussed. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Determinants of aggression toward sexual minorities in a community sample.

Objective: Sexual prejudice and masculine gender role stress were examined as mediators of the associations between adherence to different male gender norms and aggression toward sexual minorities. This study also sought to extend past research to a community sample and use multiple methods to assess aggression. Method: Participants were 199 heterosexual men between the ages of 18 and 30 who were recruited from a large southeastern U.S. city. Participants completed measures of adherence to male gender role norms, sexual prejudice, masculine gender role stress, and aggression toward sexual minorities. Results: Associations between adherence to the status and antifemininity norms and aggression toward sexual minorities were mediated by sexual prejudice but not masculine gender role stress. The portion of unique association between adherence to the antifemininity norm and aggression toward sexual minorities was about three times larger than the portion mediated by sexual prejudice and masculine gender role stress. Conclusion: Findings provide the first multivariate evidence from a community-based sample for determinants of aggression toward sexual minorities motivated by gender role enforcement. These data support intervention programming and preventative intervention studies aimed at reducing sexual prejudice and facilitating less stereotypic attitudes about the male gender role, particularly surrounding the antifemininity norm. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive processes underlying women's risk judgments: Associations with sexual victimization history and rape myth acceptance.

Objective: This study evaluated the effects of sexual victimization history, rape myth acceptance, implicit attention, and recent learning on the cognitive processes underlying undergraduate women's explicit risk judgments. Method: Participants were 194 undergraduate women between 18 and 24 years of age. The sample was ethnically diverse and composed primarily of freshman, heterosexual, and single women. Stimuli were written vignettes describing social situations that varied on dimensions of sexual victimization risk and potential impact on women's popularity. Participants completed cognitive tasks assessing relative attention to victimization risk versus popularity impact, learning about either risk or popularity impact, and explicit classification of victimization risk. Participants then completed the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES) and the Rape Myth Acceptance Scale; SES responses were used to quantify the severity of victimization experiences. Results: More severe victimization history predicted use of higher thresholds for judging situations as risky, as well as lower sensitivity to risk and greater sensitivity to popularity impact when judging risk. Greater rape myth acceptance also predicted lower sensitivity to risk information. Higher relative attention to victimization risk predicted greater sensitivity to risk information when judging risk. Recent learning about either the risk or the popularity impact aspects of social situations modified sensitivity to risk versus popularity when making risk judgments. Conclusion: The study emphasizes the importance of distinguishing the threshold for judging situations as risky from sensitivity to risk-relevant information in understanding individual differences in women's risk judgments. Both processes may be important to consider when developing interventions to reduce women's risk for sexual victimization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of peer rape myth acceptance and disclosure in a sample of college sexual assault survivors.

There are many empirically supported treatments available to help sexual assault survivors improve their postassault outcomes. Unfortunately, many survivors do not disclose their assault to others or seek formal treatment services and thus are not able to benefit from these treatments. This study examines the relations between survivors’ perceptions of peer rape myth acceptance (RMA), disclosure behaviors, and psychological well-being. Sixty-four sexually assaulted college undergraduates and 159 of their nonassaulted peers participated in this study. Survivors significantly overestimated their peers’ RMA, and this overestimation predicted posttraumatic symptoms. Contrary to hypotheses, the relation between estimated peer RMA and posttraumatic distress was not mediated by assault disclosure variables. As estimated peer RMA increased, survivors reported disclosing fewer assault details. These findings have implications for both sexual assault survivors and the general population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Being a Canadian: Aspects of national identity among a sample of university students in Saskatchewan.

Questionnaire data from 269 undergraduates show that Ss identified strongly with the country as a whole and with the prairies; strong regional sentiment is apparently not necessarily incompatible with a strong sense of national identity. Ss felt that the major division within Canada was between rich and poor but that the division between English Canadians and French Canadians was more important. In terms of correlates, Ss who felt a close attachment to their home community and to their parents also identified strongly with Canada as a whole. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer victimization and academic achievement in a multiethnic sample: The role of perceived academic self-efficacy.

This study examines the link between perceived peer victimization and academic adjustment in an ethnically diverse sample of 1,895 Grade 6 students nested within 108 school classes. It was hypothesized that students' academic self-efficacy mediates the (negative) link between victimization experiences and academic achievement outcomes. Multilevel analyses were used to test this hypothesis and to explore whether there are differences between ethnic minority and majority group children. Results indicated that peer victimization was negatively associated with both relative class-based, and absolute test-based measures of academic achievement. These associations were similar across different school classes. As expected, the link between victimization and achievement was mediated by perceived academic self-efficacy, suggesting that victimized students did less well academically because they considered themselves to be less competent. The lower perceived self-efficacy of victimized children could be partly attributed to lower global self-esteem and depressed affect. Results were largely similar for ethnic minority and majority group children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of rape on sexual satisfaction.

Asked 15 adult rape victims to rate, retrospectively, their satisfaction with 23 sex-related activities prior to and after the rape. Sexual satisfaction with a wide variety of sex-related behaviors decreased substantially following the rape, although autoerotic and primarily affectional experiences appeared to be unaffected by the rape. Moreover, the current satisfaction with sexual relations reported by rape victims was significantly less than that reported by a nonraped sample, even though the 2 groups did not differ in terms of frequency with which they engaged in various sexual activities or experienced orgasms. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived victimization moderates self-reports of workplace aggression and conflict.

A sample of 489 employed men between 32 and 36 years old responded to questions concerning rates of having engaged in workplace aggression and conflict. These individuals also completed a personality inventory and questionnaires related to past antisocial behavior and alcohol abuse. Consistent with prior research, workplace aggression and conflict were significantly correlated with particular personality variables (stress reaction, aggression, and control) as well as with general past antisocial behavior and alcohol abuse. Furthermore, these relationships were moderated by the perception of being victimized by others (alienation), with such perceptions strengthening associations between workplace aggression and other risk factors. These interaction effects, which cannot plausibly be attributed to the use of a self-report criterion, could have important implications for understanding and predicting aggression and conflict behavior within organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of sexual victimization on sexual satisfaction: A study of the negative-association hypothesis.

Investigated the negative-association explanation of behaviorally specific decreases in postrape sexual satisfaction via retrospective ratings in 4 groups of women representing different degrees of sexual assault. Ss were 116 college women preselected on the basis of their scores on a women's sexual experiences survey. All groups of sexually victimized Ss except those who experienced pressure and/or coercion to engage in sexual intercourse were currently less sexually satisfied on all sexual behaviors than nonvictimized Ss. No behaviorally specific postassault decreases in sexual satisfaction emerged for any group of victimized Ss. Thus, support was not found for the negative-association hypothesis. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relational aggression and social-psychological adjustment in a college sample.

Although the understanding of aggression has been significantly advanced through the study of relational aggression, past research has been limited by its predominant focus on children. This study examines the associations between relational aggression and social-psychological adjustment in a sample of young adults. A peer-nomination instrument was constructed to assess relational aggression, and self-reports of adjustment were obtained from 225 college students (45% male; mean age?=?19.5). Regression analyses showed that relational aggression provided unique information, after controlling for age and gender, about peer rejection, prosocial behavior, antisocial personality features, and borderline personality features. Interactions with gender further showed that, for women, relational aggression was linked with bulimic symptoms. The importance of relational aggression for understanding adjustment problems during young adulthood are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding infidelity: Correlates in a national random sample.

Infidelity is a common phenomenon in marriages but is poorly understood. The current study examined variables related to extramarital sex using data from the 1991-1996 General Social Surveys. Predictor variables were entered into a logistic regression with presence of extramarital sex as the dependent variable. Results demonstrated that divorce, education, age when first married, and 2 "opportunity" variables--respondent's income and work status--significantly affected the likelihood of having engaged in infidelity. Also, there were 3 significant interactions related to infidelity: (a) between age and gender, (b) between marital satisfaction and religious behavior, and (c) between past divorce and educational level. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Narcissism, sexual refusal, and aggression: Testing a narcissistic reactance model of sexual coercion.

Laboratory analog studies investigated the theory that narcissism and reactance contribute to causing rape. In Study 1, narcissism correlated positively with rape-supportive beliefs and negatively with empathy for rape victims. In Study 2, narcissists reported more enjoyment than other men of film depictions that presented consensual, affectionate activity followed by rape (but not in response to either affection or rape alone). In Study 3, narcissists were more punitive than other men toward a female confederate who refused to read a sexually arousing passage aloud to them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Variation in bystander behavior related to sexual and intimate partner violence prevention: Correlates in a sample of college students.

Objective: Innovations in violence prevention mobilize peers as active bystanders, yet little is known about what motivates helping in such contexts. We examined correlates of actual helpful behavior (rather than only attitudes) related to the prevention of sexual and intimate partner violence among college students at one university in the United States. Method: Four hundred and six (406) undergraduate students at the University of New Hampshire completed self-report surveys. We assessed attitudes (e.g., rape myth acceptance, bystander confidence) in relation to self-reported helping behavior. Results: Different predictors were significant for the self-report measures of attitude compared to behaviors. Students who self-reported a greater sense of responsibility for ending sexual and relationship violence and greater expressed confidence as a bystander and perceptions of greater benefits of stepping in to help, self-reported greater helping behavior. We found some differences in correlates of helping behavior by type of helping behavior. Conclusions: Correlates of helping differ when actual behaviors performed in the community compared to attitudes were assessed. Prevention strategies that increase community members' sense of responsibility for ending violence, build confidence in helping, and support norms that encourage active bystanders are needed to increase helping behavior to ameliorate this widespread community problem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term effects of sexual victimization in childhood: An attributional approach.

Explored the relation between childhood sexual victimization experience and adult functioning in 103 women (aged 18–56 yrs) who were victimized as children or adolescents and 88 women (aged 18–57 yrs) who were not victimized, who served as controls. Members of both groups completed a questionnaire about their present social, psychological, and sexual functioning; measures included the Beck Depression Inventory, SCL-90, Texas Social Behavior Inventory, Attributional Style Questionnaire, Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Victimized Ss differed significantly from nonvictims on measures of (a) childhood family and social experiences; (b) adult attributional style; and (c) levels of depression, psychological distress, self-esteem, and sexual problems. Results suggest that the sexually victimized Ss' adult functioning was related most strongly to their attributional style for bad events. Perception of the victimization experience and quality of social support were important factors related to adult functioning. Possible implications for treating women who are experiencing problems related to childhood sexual victimization experiences are discussed. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incidence and mental health impact of sexual orientation victimization of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths in high school.

This study examined victimization during high school based on sexual orientation of 350 lesbian, gay, or bisexual (lgb) youths aged 21 and younger. Experiences of direct victimization as well as knowledge of other lgb youths' victimization were assessed. Over half reported verbal abuse in high school because of their sexual orientation, and 11% said they had been physically assaulted. Youths who were more open in high school about their sexual orientation and who had a history of more gender atypical behavior were victimized more often. Male youths were targeted significantly more often than females, Youths' current mental health symptoms, especially traumatic stress reactions, were associated with having experienced more verbal abuse in high school. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)