Further Validation of a Laboratory Analog Sexual Aggression Task: Associations With Novel Risk Factors for Sexual Violence

Components of Hostile Masculinity and Their Associations With Male-Perpetrated Sexual Aggression Toward Women: A Systematic Review

Hostile masculinity and its components (i.e., sexual dominance, hostility toward women, adversarial sexual beliefs, rape myth acceptance, and acceptance of interpersonal violence) have received considerable research attention as predictors of male-perpetrated sexual aggression toward women. The current systematic review sought to synthesize and organize the extant literature. Studies were included in the systematic review if they were published in a peer-reviewed journal between the years 1990 and 2020, contained a male sample within the United States, analyzed quantitative data, and examined at least one component of hostile masculinity and its association with sexual aggression. Literature searches were conducted in three academic databases, and additional records were identified through references sections from known hostile masculinity research. A total of 95 articles met inclusion criteria and were integrated into the overview of results. The reviewed literature provided broad support for the association between hostile masculinity and sexual aggression, including evidence for the theoretical framework posited by the confluence model of sexual aggression. Prevention efforts are likely to find success by modifying hostile masculine characteristics among men, particularly within problematic environmental contexts. However, the review also highlighted the need for a uniform conceptualization and operational definition of hostile masculinity. Additionally, empirical work with diverse samples is necessary to determine the scope of generalizability and potential subcultural distinctions. Future research that addresses these limitations will contribute to the understanding and prevention of sexual aggression beyond what is provided by the extant literature.

An Evaluation of the Methodological Underpinnings of a Laboratory Paradigm for the Study of Sexual Violence

Ethically constructed laboratory paradigms can provide behaviorally based opportunities to study sexual violence as an addition to questionnaires. One such paradigm invites male participants to watch and show sexual materials to a female confederate as an analog of sexual perpetration. However, there has been inconsistency in the confederate's presentation, such that she either expresses a dislike of sexual material or her preferences are omitted. Some researchers have also questioned whether an expressed dislike is analogous to an expressed nonconsent. As such, the primary goal of the current study was to determine whether confederate expressions of dislike, nonconsent, or the omission of a preference, differentially affect male participants' behavior within a well-established paradigm. That is, we attempted to clarify the appropriate methodology for future researchers (i.e., the validity of the paradigm) and determine the impact of such a situational manipulation on laboratory-based sexual violence. Participants were 276 adult men, who were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) dislike, (2) nonconsent, or (3) said nothing (the omission of a preference) and then asked to show a brief video clip to the female confederate who expressed these preferences. Overall, exposure to experimental condition predicted sexual video-showing over and above that of social desirability, hostile sexism (HS), and sexual violence history, suggesting that situational variables can play a significant role in laboratory-based sexual violence. Greater HS was associated with greater likelihood of sexual video-showing in the nonconsent condition relative to the dislike condition. Sexual video-showing was most frequent in the said nothing condition. In sum, researchers should be mindful of the confederate expression (or lack thereof) of preferences for sexual materials when using the sexual imposition paradigm.

Acute Alcohol Intoxication Inhibits Bystander Intervention Behavior for Sexual Aggression Among Men with High Intent to Help

BACKGROUND

Bystander training programs aim to encourage third-party witnesses to intervene in high-risk sexual situations; however, these programs rarely focus on training bystanders to effectively intervene when intoxicated. This is not surprising due to the limited evidence on the proximal effects of alcohol on bystander intervention for sexual aggression. To this end, the aim of the present study was to test the effects of men's self-reported intent to help strangers and acute alcohol intoxication on the likelihood and speed of sexual aggression intervention.

METHODS

Participants were 74 men who completed a measure of intent to help (Session 1) and were randomly assigned to consume alcohol or a no-alcohol control beverage (Session 2). Next, they engaged in a novel laboratory paradigm in which they and 4 other confederates (2 men, 2 women) watched a female confederate, who reported a strong dislike of sexual content in the media, view a sexually explicit film which they could stop at any time. Bystander intervention was operationalized as whether and how quickly participants stopped the film.

RESULTS

Findings indicated that (i) intent to help strangers predicted faster sexual aggression intervention and (ii) intent to help strangers predicted a higher likelihood and faster rate of sexual aggression intervention among sober, but not intoxicated, men. This latter finding suggests that among men who endorsed a high willingness to intervene in sexual aggression, alcohol intoxication decreased intervention behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

Results demonstrate that alcohol functions as a barrier to intervention for men who would otherwise intervene. Findings are interpreted using an integrative framework for intoxicated sexual aggression intervention and highlight the need for bystander training programs to incorporate alcohol interventions to reduce heavy drinking and psychoeducation to train bystanders how to intervene when intoxicated.