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O'Connor J, Smith L, Woerner J, Khan A. Protective Factors for Sexual Violence Perpetration Among High School and College Students: A Systematic Review. TRAUMA, VIOLENCE & ABUSE 2024; 25:1073-1087. [PMID: 37199485 DOI: 10.1177/15248380231171189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
To prevent sexual violence (SV), it is important to understand both risk and protective factors for SV perpetration. Although considerable research has examined risk factors for perpetration of SV among high school and college students, less research is dedicated to investigating protective factors which might mitigate the risk of perpetration. This review summarizes existing research on protective factors for perpetration of SV among high school and college students. Thirteen articles were included in this study after reviewing 5,464 citations. Inclusion criteria included peer-reviewed scholarly journals, written in English, and published between 2010 and 2021. The included articles indicate that 11 factors were significantly related to less SV perpetration. Key protective factors identified in this study include empathy, impulse control, social support, parental factors, peers, church attendance/ religiosity, and school connections. In addition to protective factors, this review also examined study characteristics for the included articles and found that most participants were White and just over half of the studies were longitudinal. Overall, these findings indicate a lack of research focused on protective factors for SV perpetration, and a need for more research on the identified protective factors and to investigate additional protective factors. Such studies should include longitudinal designs and more diverse samples to understand the range of protective factors that can be bolstered through interventions to prevent SV among high school and college students.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia O'Connor
- School of Social Work and Violence Against Women cluster, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Lakaysia Smith
- Public Affairs PhD program - Social Work track, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Jacqueline Woerner
- Department of Sociology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
- Department of Psychology and Violence Against Women cluster, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Assad Khan
- College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
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Birke JB, Jern P, Johansson A, Bondü R. Links between Aggressive Sexual Fantasies and Sexual Coercion: A Replication and Extension of a Multifactorial Model. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2024; 53:1047-1063. [PMID: 38233725 PMCID: PMC10920420 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-023-02782-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Current research indicates that aggressive sexual fantasies (ASF) are related to sexual aggression, above and beyond other risk factors for this behavior. There have, however, rarely been explicitly considered in multifactor models aiming to explain sexual aggression. One exception is the multifactorial Revised Confluence Model of Sexual Aggression that was replicated in two samples of male individuals who were convicted of sexual offenses and a small sample of men from the general population and evidenced a high relevance of ASF, respectively. There were, however, no further attempts to replicate the model in larger samples from the general population. We, therefore, used a subsample from the Finnish Genetics of Sexuality and Aggression project including 3269 men (age: M = 26.17 years, SD = 4.76) to do so. Cross-sectional latent structural equation models corroborated previous research and the assumption that ASF are a central component in multifactor models that aim to explain sexual aggression: ASF and antisocial behavior/aggression were equally important associates of sexual coercion when also considering adverse childhood experiences, hypersexuality, and callous-unemotional traits. Additionally, ASF mediated the links between hypersexuality, callous-unemotional traits, as well as childhood sexual abuse and sexual coercion. These links held stable when entering further risk factors, that is, distorted perceptions, rape-supportive attitudes, and violent pornography consumption into the model. Contrasting assumptions, alcohol consumption and antisocial behavior/aggression did not interact. These results illustrate the potential importance of ASF for sexual aggression. They indicate that ASF require consideration by research on sexual aggression as well as in the treatment and risk assessment of sexual perpetrators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Bernhard Birke
- Department of Psychology, Psychologische Hochschule Berlin, Am Köllnischen Park 2, 10179, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Patrick Jern
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Abo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
| | - Ada Johansson
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Abo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
| | - Rebecca Bondü
- Department of Psychology, Psychologische Hochschule Berlin, Am Köllnischen Park 2, 10179, Berlin, Germany
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Treat TA, Corbin WR, Papova A, Richner K, Craney R, Fromme K. Selection and socialization accounts of the relation between fraternity membership and sexual aggression. PSYCHOLOGY OF ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS 2021; 35:337-350. [PMID: 33764091 PMCID: PMC8084907 DOI: 10.1037/adb0000662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The current project aims to enhance our understanding of the well-established relation between fraternity membership and sexual aggression on college campuses. Most prior research has been cross-sectional and unable to distinguish selection and socialization accounts of the relation, and only one prior longitudinal study has simultaneously examined selection and socialization effects. METHOD Fraternity membership, sexual aggression, binge drinking, sociosexual attitudes and behaviors, and perceived peer sexual aggression were assessed for 772 male participants (n = 116 fraternity members) in a longitudinal survey study from the summer prior to college through Year 2 of college. RESULTS Longitudinal path analyses revealed three key findings. First, fraternity membership was prospectively correlated with sexual aggression in Years 1 and 2 of college (socialization effect), controlling for selection effects, when the two prospective paths were constrained to be equivalent. Second, more frequent binge drinking and sociosexual attitudes prior to college prospectively correlated with an increased likelihood of joining a fraternity (selection effect), and both selection variables indirectly correlated with future sexual aggression via fraternity membership. Third, fraternity membership was associated with increased binge drinking and perceived peer sexual aggression (socialization effects). CONCLUSIONS These findings identify critical targets for the prevention of sexually aggressive behavior that are linked to fraternity membership: Binge drinking and sociosexual attitudes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Brownhalls J, Duffy A, Eriksson L, Overall N, Sibley CG, Radke HRM, Barlow FK. Make it Safe at Night or Teach Women to Fight? Sexism Predicts Views on Men’s and Women’s Responsibility to Reduce Men’s Violence Toward Women. SEX ROLES 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11199-020-01159-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Parrott DJ, Swartout KM, Tharp AT, Purvis DM, Topalli V. Speak Up! Prosocial Intervention Verbalizations Predict Successful Bystander Intervention for a Laboratory Analogue of Sexual Aggression. SEXUAL ABUSE : A JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND TREATMENT 2020; 32:220-243. [PMID: 30623745 PMCID: PMC6856396 DOI: 10.1177/1079063218821121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
This study evaluated a mechanism by which men's self-efficacy to intervene increases their likelihood of preventing a laboratory analogue of sexual aggression (SA) via specific verbalizations and whether alcohol inhibits this mechanism. A sample of 78 male peer dyads were randomly assigned to consume an alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverage and complete a laboratory paradigm to assess bystander intervention to prevent SA toward a female who had ostensibly consumed an alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverage. Participants' verbalizations during the task were subjected to quantitative analysis. Regardless of alcohol use, bystander self-efficacy increased the likelihood of successful bystander intervention via participants' use of more prosocial verbalizations. Findings highlight prosocial verbalizations within the male peer context that may effectively prevent SA.
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Casey EA, Masters NT, Beadnell B. Social Norms: Are Sexually Aggressive Men More Likely to Misperceive Other Men's Sexual Desires and Behavior? JOURNAL OF AGGRESSION, MALTREATMENT & TRAUMA 2020; 29:917-935. [PMID: 33716494 PMCID: PMC7954127 DOI: 10.1080/10926771.2019.1711278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Revised: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 12/15/2019] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Separate lines of research show that men overestimate the extent of male peers' sexual activity, and independently, that sexually aggressive men believe that other men approve of coercive behavior. This study examined the intersection of these lines of inquiry, testing whether the degree of male participants' misperception of other men's sexual behavior differs as a function of perpetrator status. In a national sample, we presented heterosexually active men (n=497) with sexual scenarios varying in sexual acts, partner types, and circumstances. Results showed that participants significantly overestimated the typicality of all types of sexual situations for other men. Participants also misjudged the desirability of scenarios consistent with a traditional masculinity sexual script to other men; these scenarios reflected an adversarial perspective on relationships and an impersonal approach to sexuality - a known risk factor for sexual aggression. Further, sexually aggressive men overestimated the desirability of these traditional masculinity scenarios to a greater extent than non-aggressive peers. Findings suggest that interventions that provide accurate knowledge about social norms, or "typical" sexual desires and behaviors among other men, may reduce pressure to live up to perceived but perhaps inaccurate masculine ideals, as well as reduce social norm-related risks for sexually aggressive behavior.
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Dawson K, Tafro A, Štulhofer A. Adolescent sexual aggressiveness and pornography use: A longitudinal assessment. Aggress Behav 2019; 45:587-597. [PMID: 31432547 DOI: 10.1002/ab.21854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2019] [Revised: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 07/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The rising prevalence of (online) pornography use among, mostly male, adolescents revived social concerns regarding possible effects of pornography use on sexual aggressiveness. Given the paucity of longitudinal explorations of this link, this study focused on the following two research questions: (Q1) Is pornography use during middle to late adolescence related to male adolescents' self-reported sexual aggressiveness; and (Q2) can personality traits and characteristics that have been associated with sexual aggression account for this presumed link? Using data from a six-wave panel sample of 594 male Croatian high-school sophomore students (Mage at baseline = 15.8 years, SD = 0.52), latent class and latent growth curve modeling were employed to answer these questions. There was a significant baseline difference in the frequency of pornography use between participants who reported no or marginal levels of sexual aggressiveness during the period under observation (20 months) and their peers who reported substantial sexual aggressiveness, with the former reporting significantly lower initial levels of pornography use compared to the latter. Controlling for personality characteristics did not cancel this association. In addition, bullying and reported peer pressure significantly predicted initial levels of pornography use, but not its subsequent change. With the controls omitted from the analysis, a slight average increase in pornography use was observed among adolescents who reported no or lowest levels of sexual aggressiveness. In contrast, pornography use decreased somewhat among their peers who reported moderate sexual aggressiveness. Insights from this study can contribute to school-based sexual violence prevention programs, as well as inform recently proposed pornography literacy programs which aim to assist adolescents in navigating the increasingly sexually explicit online environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate Dawson
- School of PsychologyNational University of Ireland Galway Ireland
| | - Azra Tafro
- Department of Electronics Systems and Information Processing, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and ComputingUniversity of Zagreb Zagreb Croatia
| | - Aleksandar Štulhofer
- Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities and Social SciencesUniversity of Zagreb Zagreb Croatia
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Eaton AA, Stephens DP. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to Examine Beliefs About Verbal Sexual Coercion Among Urban Black Adolescents. JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE 2019; 34:2056-2086. [PMID: 27436090 DOI: 10.1177/0886260516659653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
This study used the theory of planned behavior to identify urban Black adolescents' beliefs about male-to-female verbal sexual coercion. Interviews were conducted with 91 urban, Black adolescents (53 boys and 38 girls) to identify their behavioral, normative, and control beliefs about verbal sexual coercion perpetration (for males) and resistance (for females). Boys reported that perpetrating verbal sexual coercion could result in negative relationship outcomes, and the main benefit of using this tactic was to obtain sex. Unsupportive peers and some male family members were seen as encouraging boys to use verbal sexual coercion, whereas parents were seen as opposed to the use of coercion. Being in a private context with a girl and having persuasive skill were seen as facilitating the use of coercion, whereas being with an experienced or skilled girl was a barrier. For girls, positive relationship outcomes and sexual health risks were the benefits and pitfalls of resisting verbal sexual coercion. "Real" friends and family were described as supporting girls' resistance to coercion, while "fake" friends, promiscuous girls, and male peers were seen as not supporting resistance. Girls believed being in a safe, public context would make it easier to resist coercion, while being in a stable relationship with an attractive and persistent partner would make it more difficult to resist. Knowing urban, Black adolescents' beliefs about verbal sexual coercion is the first step toward predicting and intervening on their perpetration and resistance behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asia A Eaton
- 1 Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
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Is Campus Rape Primarily a Serial or One-Time Problem? Evidence From a Multicampus Study. Violence Against Women 2019; 26:296-311. [DOI: 10.1177/1077801219833820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
We examined the prevalence and repeat offenses of college men, including fraternity men and student athletes, taking advantage of someone sexually while under the influence of alcohol. Preexisting data from the Core Alcohol and Other Drug Survey included a sample of 12,624 college men at 49 community and 4-year colleges. Results provide further evidence that the problem of campus rape is largely one of serial perpetration. More than 87% of alcohol-involved sexual assault was committed by serial perpetrators. Fraternity men and student athletes were significantly more likely to commit alcohol-involved sexual assault than other men on campus.
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Wamboldt A, Khan SR, Mellins CA, Hirsch JS. Friends, strangers, and bystanders: Informal practices of sexual assault intervention. Glob Public Health 2019; 14:53-64. [PMID: 29733255 PMCID: PMC6222010 DOI: 10.1080/17441692.2018.1472290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2018] [Accepted: 04/15/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Sexual assault is a part of many students' experiences in higher education. In U.S. universities, one in four women and one in ten men report being sexually assaulted before graduation. Bystander training programmes have been shown to modestly reduce campus sexual assault. Like all public health interventions, however, they have unintended social consequences; this research examines how undergraduate men on one campus understand bystander interventions and how those understandings shape their actual practices. We draw on ethnographic data collected between August 2015 and January 2017 at Columbia University and Barnard College. Our findings show that university training and an earnest desire to be responsible lead many men to intervene in possible sexual assaults. However, students' gendered methods target more socially vulnerable and socially distant men while protecting popular men and those to whom they are socially connected. Students' actual bystander practices thus reproduce social hierarchies in which low prestige may or may not be connected to actual risks of sexual assault. These results suggest that understanding intragroup dynamics and social hierarchies is essential to assault prevention in universities and that students' actions as bystanders may be effective at preventing assaults in some circumstances but may lead to new risks of sexual assault.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Wamboldt
- Columbia University, Department of Sociology, Columbia University, 606 W. 122 Street, New York, NY 10027, , 212-305-8236
| | - Shamus R. Khan
- Department of Sociology, Columbia University, 606 W. 122 Street, New York, NY 10027, , 212-854-2489
| | - Claude Ann Mellins
- Division of Gender, Sexuality and Health, Departments of Psychiatry and Sociomedical Sciences, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University Medical Center, 722 W. 168 Street, New York, NY 10032, , 646-774-6934
| | - Jennifer S. Hirsch
- Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 W. 168 Street, New York, NY 10032, , 212-305-1185
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Pegram SE, Abbey A, Woerner J, Helmers BR. Partner Type Matters: Differences in Cross-Sectional Predictors of Men's Sexual Aggression in Casual and Steady Relationships. VIOLENCE AND VICTIMS 2018; 33:902-917. [PMID: 30567872 PMCID: PMC6995502 DOI: 10.1891/0886-6708.vv-d-17-00080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Researchers rarely consider if different theoretical models are needed to understand the etiology of men's sexual aggression against women in steady as compared to casual relationships. A modified confluence model was evaluated with survey data from 556 young, single men. Hostile masculinity was the only assessed risk factor that had a direct relationship to sexual aggression against steady and casual partners. Impersonal sex and friends' approval of forced sex were directly related to sexual aggression against casual partners; whereas, heavy alcohol consumption was directly related to sexual aggression against steady partners. Psychopathy-related personality traits were indirectly related to both types of sexual aggression. The model explained a moderate amount of variance in casual date perpetration, but only a small amount of variance in steady date perpetration. Thus, more research and theory is needed to understand violence in this type of relationship.
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Woerner J, Abbey A, Pegram SE, Helmers BR. The effects of alcohol intoxication and sexual interest on men's sexual persistence and hostility in a dating simulation. Aggress Behav 2018; 44:10.1002/ab.21773. [PMID: 29974972 PMCID: PMC6546559 DOI: 10.1002/ab.21773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2017] [Revised: 04/20/2018] [Accepted: 05/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Perpetrators of sexual assault are often intoxicated; however, few experimental studies evaluate alcohol's "in the moment" effects on sexual aggression. This study extends past theory and research by examining the acute effects of alcohol on men's decisions about how to respond to sexual refusals in a dating simulation. Men (N = 62) ages 21-29 were randomly assigned to consume alcohol (target breath alcohol level 0.080%) or no alcohol. Participants were encouraged to talk to a simulated woman and act as they would on an actual date. They made choices from a list which included nonsexual and sexual options. The female agent was programmed to engage in some sexual activities but refuse others. Refusals became more intense if participants persisted. Negative binomial regression analysis was used to test a path analytic model. As predicted, participants' self-reported desire to have sex was positively associated with choosing more consensual sexual activities during the simulation (i.e., activities in which the woman willingly engaged). Consensual sexual activities were positively associated with the number of times participants persisted after the woman refused. Alcohol moderated this relationship such that it was stronger for intoxicated men than sober men. The more sexual refusals participants received, the more hostile verbal comments they made to the woman. Contrary to our predictions, this relationship was not moderated by alcohol condition. Because participants had multiple opportunities to escalate their aggression or desist, this paradigm provides new insights into the mechanisms through which intoxication enhances the likelihood of sexual aggression in dating situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline Woerner
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Woodward, Detroit, Michigan
| | - Antonia Abbey
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Woodward, Detroit, Michigan
| | - Sheri E Pegram
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Woodward, Detroit, Michigan
| | - Breanne R Helmers
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Woodward, Detroit, Michigan
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Brennan CL, Swartout KM, Cook SL, Parrott DJ. A Qualitative Analysis of Offenders' Emotional Responses to Perpetrating Sexual Assault. SEXUAL ABUSE : A JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND TREATMENT 2018; 30:393-412. [PMID: 27591752 DOI: 10.1177/1079063216667917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to understand sexual assault perpetrators' emotional responses to perpetration to facilitate treatment development and to better understand processes that may give rise to repeat perpetration. Sixty-one firsthand narratives of sexual assault perpetration, posted on Reddit.com , were analyzed using qualitative text analysis. The analysis revealed four primary emotional responses to perpetrating sexual assault: shame, guilt, depression, and anger. Each emotional response was associated with different contextual features that appeared in the narratives. Shame co-occurred with perpetrator alcohol use and consent confusion, guilt co-occurred with perpetrators' stated self-growth, anger co-occurred with denial of responsibility and hostility toward women, and depressed affect co-occurred with social isolation following perpetration. The findings indicate certain emotional responses may be more adaptive than others for protecting against repeat perpetration. This research has important implications for the treatment of perpetrators and supports the idea that self-image and perceived social context may be important treatment targets.
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