Sexual arousal to erotic and aggressive stimuli in sexually coercive and noncoercive men.

Sexual arousal to erotic stimuli depicting various levels of force were examined among college men. Study 1 used phallometric indices to measure penile circumferential change during combined audiotape and slide presentations varying in degree of force. The results indicated that the sexually coercive group exhibited more penile tumescence than controls to scenes involving verbal pressure and verbal threats. Analyses across time blocks suggested that control participants inhibited sexual arousal with the introduction of force cues but that the sexually coercive group did not. Study 2 was a replication of Study 1 without slides. Both groups showed increases in penile tumescence in response to the consent scenario. Only the sexually coercive men demonstrated significant tumescence in response to force scenarios. The results indicated that the sexually coercive males had a lower threshold for arousal to sexual cues and did not inhibit sexual arousal when force cues were introduced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)     

Sexual arousal in response to aggression: Ideological, aggressive, and sexual correlates.

In Exp I, 37 male and 42 female undergraduates reported more sexual arousal in response to nonaggressive than to aggressive depictions when the portrayals were sexually explicit, but the opposite occurred when the portrayals were nonsexual. In Exp II, 367 males were classified into no arousal, moderate arousal, or high arousal from force (AFF) groups on the basis of self-reports. To evaluate the veridicality of this classification, 118 Ss' penile tumescence in response to various depictions was assessed. Findings generally replicate those of the Exp I and confirm the accuracy of the AFF classification. The no- and the moderate-AFF Ss were less sexually aroused by aggressive than by nonaggressive portrayals, but the opposite was found for the high-AFF group. Strong differences between AFF groups were found on ideological factors, including acceptance of violence against and dominance over women, acceptance of nonsexual aggression, and Ss' beliefs that they might actually use force against women. In contrast, differences were not found on sexuality factors. Implications for theories on the causes of rape are discussed. (64 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of sexual arousal in sexually aggressive behavior: A meta-analysis.

Meta-analyses were performed on 9 studies of 434 Ss' penile responsivity to rape stimuli. The mean effect size for raw score data suggested that most sexual aggressors against women exhibit slightly more rape arousal than control or comparison Ss, whereas the mean effect size for rape index (rape arousal:consenting sexual arousal) data suggested a moderate between-groups difference. Rape index effect sizes in individual studies, however, were heterogeneous. The rape index appears sensitive to differences between sexually aggressive men and those who are not but is not sensitive to differences between men who sexually aggress against women vs other types of sexual aggressors. Also discussed are the needs for standardization and methodological and statistical improvements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The scope of rape: Incidence and prevalence of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of higher education students.

Because of inadequacies in the methods used to measure sexual assault, national crime statistics, criminal victimization studies, convictions, or incarceration rates fail to reflect the true scope of rape. Studies that have avoided the limitations of these methods have revealed very high rates of overt rape and lesser degrees of sexual aggression. The goal of the present study was to extend previous work to a national basis. The Sexual Experiences Survey was administered to a national sample of 6,159 women and men enrolled in 32 institutions representative of the diversity of higher education settings across the United States. Women's reports of experiencing and men's reports of perpetrating rape, attempted rape, sexual coercion, and sexual contact were obtained, including both the rates of prevalence since age 14 and of incidence during the previous year. The findings support published assertions of high rates of rape and other forms of sexual aggression among large normal populations. Although the results are limited in generalizability to postsecondary students, this group represents 26% of all persons aged 18–24 in the United States. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of state and trait affect on HIV risk behaviors: A daily diary study of MSM.

Objective: To characterize the influence of state and trait affect on HIV risk behaviors. Design: Men who have sex with men (N = 155) completed reports of trait affect and daily reports of affect and sexual behaviors each night for up to 30 days. Main Outcome Measures: Analyses focused on the role of state and trait positive activation (PA), negative activation (NA), anxious arousal (AA), and sexual activation (SA) on sexual risk taking, operationalized as having a sex partner, a partner-related risk composite, and an HIV risk behavior composite. Results: State SA was positively associated with having a sex partner and HIV risk behaviors; trait SA was positively associated with partner-related risk. State AA was negatively associated with having a sex partner and positively associated with HIV risk behaviors. Trait AA had a negative association with partner-related risk and moderated the effects of state AA. State PA was negatively associated with HIV risk behaviors, and trait PA had a main effect on having a sex partner. NA had no significant trait or state effects. Conclusion: These data suggest a role for multiple affective states in sexual risk taking. Models of HIV risk-taking behaviors should be extended to include affective processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining Masculinity Norms, Problem Drinking, and Athletic Involvement as Predictors of Sexual Aggression in College Men.

Male sexual aggression toward women is a serious social problem, particularly on college campuses. In this study, college men's sexually aggressive behavior and rape myth acceptance were examined using conformity to 11 masculine norms and 2 variables previously linked to sexual aggression: problem drinking and athletic involvement. Results indicated that men who use alcohol problematically and conform to specific masculine norms (i.e., having power over women, being a playboy, disdaining gay men, being dominant, being violent, and taking risks) tended to endorse rape myths and report sexually aggressive behavior. Additionally, men who reported higher levels of problematic alcohol use and risk taking were more likely to report sexually aggressive behavior without endorsing rape myths. Implications and recommendations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex role stereotyping and reactions to depictions of stranger versus acquaintance rape.

Tested 2 hypotheses implicit in the sex-role socialization analysis of rape: that reactions to rape may be affected (a) by the situational context in which a rape is portrayed and (b) by individual differences in sex role stereotyping. 289 male and female college students were classified as either high or low in sex-role stereotyping. They were then randomly assigned to read 1 of 3 sexual depictions (mutually consenting intercourse, stranger rape, and acquaintance rape) and were asked to indicate their sexual arousal and perceptions of the depictions. Male Ss were also asked to indicate the likelihood of their committing rape if they could be assured that no one would know. Results indicate sexual arousal and perceptual differences in reactions to the acquaintance rape vs stranger rape, and as expected, these reactions were mediated by Ss' sex-role stereotyping. High sex-role stereotyping Ss showed sexual arousal patterns like those typically found with identified rapist populations. Of the male Ss, 44% showed some likelihood of raping. (57 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Pornography and sexual aggression.

Reviews the book, Pornography and sexual aggression by N. M. Malamuth and E. Donnerstein (1984). Malamuth and Donnerstein are well qualified to prepare a book on pornography by virtue of their extensive research on the topic over the last several years. In 1970, the United States Commission on Obscenity and Pornography concluded that there was no evidence that pornography had adverse effects on the incidence of violence toward women. It is clear from Malamuth and Donnerstein's chapters that they believe the evidence now points to radically different conclusions and that a book summarizing all of the evidence was warranted. In the opening chapters, Malamuth and Donnerstein present summaries of their respective lines of research. Malamuth has concentrated primarily on the effects of aggressive pornography on men's sexual arousal to portrayals of coercive sexual interactions, their self-reported likelihood to rape, their acceptance of rape myths, their acceptance of interpersonal violence, and the belief that women enjoy being raped. Donnerstein discusses the effects of aggressive pornography on men's aggression toward females in a laboratory situation. The evidence presented in the book points to three main conclusions: (a) portrayals of sex and violence in the media have important effects on at least some people; (b) it is possible to formulate general theories to account for most of the results presented; and (c) the results present serious problems for society. This book is an important contribution to the literature on the effects of pornography. Put together in one volume, the evidence on the effects of pornography, especially violent pornography, is very convincing. The theoretical aspects of why this should be so are much less convincing. But the authors have made a good beginning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of childhood sexual, physical, and combined sexual and physical abuse to adult victimization and posttraumatic stress disorder

OBJECTIVE: Prior research has suggested that women who experience childhood sexual abuse are at increased risk for sexual victimization and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in adulthood. However, previous studies have paid insufficient attention to the overlap of childhood sexual and physical abuse. In the present study we disentangled the separate and combined effects of childhood sexual and physical abuse by comparing groups of participants who reported contact childhood sexual abuse only (SA), sequelae of childhood physical abuse only (PA), combined childhood sexual and physical abuse (CA), or no child abuse (NA). METHOD: A sample of 475 female college students completed measures of sexual and physical abuse in childhood (before age 15) and adulthood (after age 15), PTSD and trauma symptoms, and demographic variables. Of these participants, 27 were assigned to the SA group, 53 to the PA group, 31 to the CA group, and 211 to the NA group. RESULTS: The highest rate of adult sexual and/or physical victimization was reported by the CA group, followed by the PA group, with lower rates reported by the SA and NA groups. Using adult victimization as a covariate, the analyses revealed that the CA group reported significantly higher rates of PTSD and trauma symptoms compared to the NA group. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that prior reports of differences in rates of adult victimization and PTSD between women who experienced childhood sexual abuse and women who did not may be attributable to the inclusion of participants with a history of combined childhood sexual and physical abuse in childhood sexual abuse groups. The importance of separating physical and combined forms of victimization from sexual abuse is discussed.     

The impact of alcohol and alcohol expectancies on male perception of female sexual arousal in a date rape analog.

The impact of alcohol and alcohol expectancies on men's perception of female sexual arousal and men's ability to discriminate accurately female sexual intentions in a dating situation was examined. In a 2 (alcohol)?×?2 (expectancy) balanced placebo design, men were exposed to an audiotape of a date rape and asked to signal when the man should stop making sexual advances. On 4 occasions during the vignette, participants rated how sexually aroused the woman on the tape was at that moment. Relative to controls, participants who consumed alcohol or expected to consume alcohol took significantly longer to identify the inappropriateness of the man's sexual behavior toward his date. Similarly, alcohol participants also rated the woman's sexual arousal level significantly higher at the first 2 refusals. Implications of the results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A review of cognitive factors in the etiology of rape: theories, empirical studies, and implications

In the past decade, research into the etiology of rape has increasingly focused on cognitive variables. The studies reviewed in the present article provide evidence that men with a high proclivity to rape have more rape supportive attitudes, are more likely to consider victims to be responsible for rape, and are less knowledgeable about the negative impact of rape on the victims. These men tend to misperceive cues emitted by women in heterosocial interactions; fail to generate inhibitory self-verbalizations to suppress association of sex and aggression; and have more coercive, sexual fantasies. Furthermore, a high proclivity to rape is associated with a semantic network in which concepts of sex and power are closely linked in such a way that power cues are necessary precursors of sexual feelings. Multivariate studies suggest that rape-supportive attitudes interact with noncognitive factors in the etiology of rape. Implications for rape prevention and treatment of rapists are considered. Finally, methodological issues are discussed, and recommendations for future research are given.     

The effect of emotional arousal on subsequent sexual arousal in men.

The effect of emotional arousal on subsequent sexual arousal was assessed in 14 18–34 yr old men. Ss initially viewed either 1 of 2 emotionally arousing videotapes (depression-and-anger or anxiety-and-anger producing) or a neutral videotape (a travelogue), each of which was followed by an erotic videotape. Sexual arousal was measured physiologically with a penile strain gauge. Although there were no differences in the level of sexual arousal during the antecedent emotionally arousing or neutral videotapes, sexual arousal during the subsequent erotic videotapes was differentially affected by them. Sexual arousal following the anxiety-and-anger videotape was greater than that following either the depression-and-anger videotape or the travelogue. Prior exposure to the travelogue resulted in greater sexual arousal than did the videotape producing depression and anger. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of erotic stimuli on male aggression toward females.

To examine the effects of highly erotic films on aggression toward females, 72 male undergraduates were first either angered or treated in a neutral manner by a male or female confederate. After viewing a highly erotic or a neutral film, Ss were given an opportunity to both aggress against and reward the confederate. Erotic films were found to increase aggression overall, but there was no indication of differential aggression as a function of sex of target. Results for physiological arousal, however, suggested that aggression was possibly inhibited for Ss exposed to an erotic film and paired with a female. Suggestions for future lines of research based on the notion of inhibition are offered, along with observations regarding the sexual arousal and aggression relationship. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual robbery: The missing concept in the search for an appropriate legal metaphor for sexual aggression.

Beginning in the late 1970s and continuing into the early years of the next decade, feminists provided compelling evidence that under the existing rape laws a woman's sexuality was treated as "property" belonging to a man. They emphasized that rape was an aggressive invasion of a person's physical integrity and in 1983 rape was redefined in the Criminal Code as a form of assault. The use of physical assault as a metaphor had the effect of shifting the emphasis of the essence of sexual aggression away from a woman's sexuality as property to the coercive nature of the act. A decade later, the evidence suggests this was an ill-conceived change. Redefining rape as a sexual assault, and measuring the severity of the crime by the level of physical violence, has established the legal and social expectations that the woman must be injured to be a "legitimate" victim. This paper advances the proposition that treating a woman's sexuality as property, as did the old rape law, was correct, and that a more appropriate metaphor is robbery. The metaphor of robbery treats a woman's sexuality as property, but achieves reform by shifting ownership from the domain of a male to the woman herself. Robbery implies the use or threat of force, but, unlike assault, does not require harm to the victim as evidence of the robbery. The theoretical proposition that conceptualizing the essence of sexual aggression as "assault" has failed and that "robbery" may be more appropriate was evaluated by examined every case of sexual assault (n=50), physical assault (n=158) and robbery (n=82) that appeared before the Halifax Law Courts between 1983 and 1988. This legal profile of sexual assault was compared to the alternative profile created by examining every case (n=593) of sexual assault reported to the local sexual assault service during the same time period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of sex guilt, repression, sexual "arousability," and sexual experience on female sexual arousal during erotica and fantasy.

Hypothesized that, among women who were asked to fantasize about sex, erotic preexposure would facilitate arousal during the fantasy, and arousal would be greater among those who had less sex guilt, those who were more arousable, those who were more experienced, and sensitizers. 62 female Ss (aged 18–53 yrs) were randomly assigned to view either an erotic or a nonerotic videotape. All Ss then imagined and wrote out a sexual fantasy. Sexual arousal was measured subjectively by self-report ratings and physiologically by continuous vaginal photoplethysmograph recording. Ss high in sex guilt reported less arousal but showed significantly greater physiological arousal during the erotic videotape than did Ss low in sex guilt. For the high sex-guilt Ss, the erotic videotape facilitated physiological arousal during fantasy. Ss low in sexual arousability and low in sexual experience followed a similar pattern. No significant differences were found for repression-sensitization. Results point toward a pattern of behavioral inhibition that facilitates increased response to forbidden erotica. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Student acceptance and expectation of sexual assault.

46 male and 108 female students' (aged 18–33 yrs) attitudes regarding the acceptance and expectation of sexual assault were examined. Participants also completed M. Burt's (1980) Rape Myth Acceptance (RMA) Scale. It is noted that acceptance of sexual aggression can lead to the exoneration of the perpetrator, whereas expectations of sexual aggression can lead to victim blaming. A feminist perspective of rape, with a focus on sexual socialization, indicates that rape myth beliefs deny or justify male sexual aggression against women. Therefore, it was predicted and found that high RMA participants expected and accepted more sexual assault than low RMA participants. Sexual assault was also expected more often than it was accepted, suggesting that these judgments are made separately. (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)