Intended Responses to Rape as Functions of Attitudes, Attributions of Fault, and Emotions

The influence of family function on online prosocial behaviors of high school students: A moderated chained mediation model

The frequency of cyberbullying incidents is gradually increasing, and the seriousness of the consequences is gradually becoming more prominent. Previous studies have shown that cyberbullying bystander behaviors play an important role in reducing cyberbullying. This study aims to explore the mechanisms that high school students' family function, empathy, and social support levels how to affect their implementation of online prosocial behaviors when they act as cyberbullying bystanders. The study was conducted in 1961 high school students (M = 16.84 years; SD = 1.08) in China. Results found that family function promotes online prosocial behaviors through (a) empathy, (b) social support, and (c) chain mediating path of empathy and social support. There were interactions between gender and family function as well as social support, which played a moderating role in the paths of family function and online prosocial behaviors and social support and online prosocial behaviors, respectively. We investigated how family function affected online prosocial behaviors in high school students and how empathy and social support worked to promote them to carry out online prosocial behaviors.

Helpful and Hurtful Empathy: How the Interplay of Empathy, Shame, and Anger Predicts Responses to Hypothetical Rape Disclosures

Responses to rape victims, although often helpful, can be hurtful and hinder victims' health and recovery. Adopting a multidimensional approach to dispositional empathy, this research investigated how different subfacets of empathy predict responses to hypothetical rape victims. Before reading a sexual assault scenario, 282 participants completed measures of cognitive and emotional empathy. Participants' subsequent emotional arousal was measured by self-report, as were their intentions to help, avoid, or blame the victim. A path model demonstrated that dispositional empathy predicted behavioral intentions toward hypothetical rape victims by altering their vulnerability to experience shame or anger. People who tended to feel personal distress were more likely to mirror rape victims' assumed shame. Due to its antisocial nature, experiencing shame, in turn, led to hurtful behaviors such as blaming or distancing oneself from the victim. On the other hand, people who tended to feel empathic concern were more likely to feel anger on behalf of the victim following a rape disclosure. Anger is a motivating force for action and promotes helping behavior. A second study demonstrated that these results appear unique to rape disclosure, namely, participants reactions to nonsexual assault were unsuccessfully captured by this model. Understanding how empathetic arousal of shame can lead to hurtful intentions toward rape victims has important implications for future interventions: Programs that draw attention to the shame or humiliation experienced by rape victims may do more harm than good. For instance, some anti-rape campaigns portray pictures of women covering their faces. These campaigns, however well intentioned, may discourage people from helping victims because they may evoke feelings of shame in the perceiver. On the other hand, societal movements, such as the #Metoo movement, may be particularly effective by reducing the shame surrounding sexual assault and promote helpful behaviors.

Changes in Rape Myth Acceptance Among Undergraduates: 2010 to 2017

The objective of this study is to characterize changes in rape myth acceptance (RMA) among college students from 2010 to 2017. Two samples of undergraduates in a northeastern university in the United States participated in the study, consisting of 464 students in the fall semester of 2010 and 534 students in the spring semester of 2017. Participants took an anonymous web-based survey to measure levels of RMA. The instrument was a revised and updated version of the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance scale. Data analysis was both descriptive and inferential. For all subscales and the overall total RMA, differences in scores by year of survey (2017 compared with 2010) were significant; 2017 scores were significantly lower than 2010 scores. The greatest differences were for the She asked for it and She lied subscales, 1.76 versus 2.62 (p < .001) and 2.26 versus 2.69 (p < .001), respectively. In both years, male students and younger students were significantly more likely to endorse rape myths. RMA among undergraduates at one northeastern university has lessened since 2010.

"I Know It When I See It": Recent Victimization and Perceptions of Rape

This study examined various individual differences that influence perceptions of sexual assault (SA), specifically focusing on participants' self-reported recent experiences of rape or sexual coercion. Female college students (N = 214) read 16 short SA encounter vignettes, indicated whether what they read constituted rape, and completed individual difference measures. Results indicated that participants who confirmed a recent history of SA endorsed rape myths to a greater degree, held more adversarial sexual beliefs, reported higher levels of sociosexuality, and were less likely to construct the SA encounters as rape when compared with women who do not report recent SA or coercion. Further analyses showed that these variables interacted to predict rape perception in ambiguous SA vignettes, as identified by the participants. These findings illuminate some of the impacts of SA and coercion on women and provide suggestions for future research to further examine the relationship between recent assault history and perceptions of rape.

Blame Attributions of Victims and Perpetrators: Effects of Victim Gender, Perpetrator Gender, and Relationship

Although research has been conducted on rape myth acceptance (RMA) and other factors associated with attribution formation, researchers have not yet determined how the combination of such factors simultaneously affects levels of victim blame and perpetrator blame. The current investigation recruited 221 students from an all-women's college to examine differences in blame attributions across RMA, victim gender, and perpetrator gender, and the relationship between the two parties (i.e., stranger vs. acquaintance). Results suggested that RMA, victim gender, and perpetrator gender account for a significant amount of variance in blame attributions for both victims and perpetrators. In sum, victim blame with female perpetrators was relatively consistent across levels of RMA, but increased substantially for male perpetrators as individuals endorsed higher levels of RMA. Perpetrator blame, however, was highest with male perpetrators when individuals endorsed low levels of RMA and lowest for male perpetrators when individuals endorsed relatively higher levels of RMA. Findings demonstrate the continued influence of RMA on blame attributions for both victims and perpetrators, and the stigma faced by male victims. More research is needed on the differing attributions of male and female victims and perpetrators, as well as differing attributions based on type of relationship. Such research will lead to a better and more thorough understanding of sexual assault and rape.

Rape Crimes Reviewed: The Role of Observer Variables in Female Victim Blaming

This article presents an overview of empirical research on the role of observer variables in rape victim blaming (female attacked by a male perpetrator). The focus is on literature from the last 15 years. The variables observer gender, ambivalent sexism, rape myth acceptance, and rape empathy are discussed in relation to victim blaming. Most research on rape is conducted using diverse methods and approaches that result in a great disparity regarding the role of these variables in predicting blame assignments. Despite the inconsistencies, most studies show that men hold the victim more responsible for her own victimization than women. Findings further indicate that higher scores on sexist ideologies and rape myth acceptance predict higher victim blame, and that higher rape empathy scores predict lower victim blame. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.