An Exploratory Study of Sexual Aggression Tactics as a Function of Perpetrator Gender and Victim Gender

Words Can Hurt: A Taxonomy of Verbally Pressured Sexual Exploitation in the SES-V

This article describes the development of the Verbally Pressured Sexual Exploitation module of the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES)-Victimization (introduced by Koss et al., 2024). This module assesses the use of verbal or nonphysical, paraverbal pressure to obtain sexual acts without freely given permission. An interdisciplinary team of seven sexual exploitation researchers collaborated to create this module, with consultation from the full 15 member SES-V revision collaboration team. In this paper, we describe our process for developing this module. We briefly review empirical literature and theoretical frameworks (e.g., rape scripts, normative sexual scripts, intersectionality, and sex-positivity) that informed this work. Summary tables compare the SES-V items to verbal pressure items in prior versions of the SES and to other existing measures of violence. The comprehensive taxonomy developed herein includes six domains of Verbally Pressured sexual exploitation across 11 item stems. The components of the taxonomy include: positive verbal pressure, neutral verbal pressure, negative verbal pressure, substance-related pressure, postural violence, and threats to critical resources. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research, with priority on intersectional research that can illuminate the phenomenology and contexts of sexual exploitation against marginalized groups.

Different Components of Sexual Narcissism Are Differentially Associated With Specific Sexual Aggression Strategies: An Exploratory Study Among Male and Female College Students

Objectives

This study investigated whether components of sexual narcissism are associated with different types of sexual aggression (e.g., verbal pressure or force) among students because this is a prevalent problem on college campuses.

Methods

College students (N = 508) were recruited for a cross-sectional online study.

Results

Results showed that components of sexual narcissism were related to different strategies of sexual aggression, with sexual entitlement being associated with not providing the victim an opportunity to object and exploiting intoxication. Gender moderated some of the associations, with women showing a stronger relationship than men.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that sexual narcissism represents a risk factor for sexual aggression in men and women and highlight the need for gender-inclusive and tailored interventions to prevent sexual aggression.

The Art of Seduction: Male Endorsement of Coercive and Willful Sex Tactics

The body of sexual assault research historically focuses on survivors, specifically female survivors. Examining the beliefs of men who endorse sexually violent or coercive behavior fills an important gap in the literature. The current study surveyed 420 male participants on their endorsement of coercive dating tactics as provided in a best-selling men's dating book, as well as endorsement of dating tactics generated from a sexual willingness framework. Overall, approximately 25% of male participants reported using or endorsing coercive sexual tactics. Several demographic factors and experiences related to higher endorsement of the coercive tactics, including past or present involvement in a fraternity, knowing a sexual assault perpetrator, affiliating with a religion, and frequent pornography viewing. The same individual factors related to endorsing the coercive tactics were associated with endorsing the willful tactics as well. Implications for greater representation in research for sexual minorities are discussed, as well as future direction for effective consent education.

Risk factors for perpetrating sexual aggression among adolescents: Differences by gender and sexual orientation

Although anyone-regardless of gender or sexual orientation-can perpetrate sexual aggression, most studies examining risk factors for engaging in sexual aggression include samples of boys and men, and do not consider the sexual orientation of the respondent. The current study addresses this gap in the literature by examining how risk factors for sexual aggression vary as a function of gender and sexual orientation in a sample of 1782 high school youth. Participants completed surveys evaluating engagement in consent behaviors, rape myth acceptance, perception of peer rape myth acceptance, perceived peer engagement in violence, and perceived peer support for violence. A one-way MANOVA found that constructs varied as a function of gender and sexual orientation. Specifically, heterosexual boys reported lower engagement in consent behaviors, higher rape myth acceptance, and higher perceived peer support for violence compared to heterosexual girls and sexual minority girls. The results highlight the importance of considering gender and sexual orientation when designing sexual aggression prevention programs.

Examining the Psychometric Properties of the Sexual Initiation Strategies Scale (SISS): A New Self-Report Measure of Sexual Aggression Perpetration History

Psychometrically-sound measures of sexual aggression are essential for identifying risk factors for perpetration and examining the behavioral impact of prevention interventions. This project reports on the psychometric evaluation of a new measure of sexual perpetration-the Sexual Initiation Strategies Scale (SISS)-which was designed to correct for weaknesses in prior measures. In Study 1, scores on the SISS demonstrated reasonable convergent and divergent validity and test-rest reliability among a sample of mixed gender college students (N = 575). Participants were more likely to endorse having engaged in sexually aggressive behavior on the SISS than on two other measures of sexual aggression. In Study 2, rates of endorsement on the SISS also were higher than on the most commonly-used measure of perpetration in a community sample of men and women (N = 551) in which gay, lesbian, and bisexual participants were oversampled. In general, the SISS seemed to perform well as a measure of sexual aggression perpetration in both men and women and in those reporting both same- and other-gender sexual aggression. Advantages and disadvantages of the SISS as compared to other measures are discussed.