Established in the year 2000, the Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education is a multidisciplinary center located at a school of social work that engages in collaborative, community-based research and evaluation that spans multiple systems and disciplines. The Center currently occupies 4,200 sq. ft. with multiple offices and…

Incorporating new methods and approaches in learning environments is imperative to the development of education systems. By enhancing learning processes, education becomes more attainable at all levels. "The Handbook of Research on Instructional Systems and Educational Technology" is an essential reference source for the latest scholarly…

Sexual social exchange theory was applied to perceptions of a date rape by manipulating the cost of the date and who paid in vignettes presented to 188 U.S. college students, who then rated the characters' sexual expectations, blame, responsibility, and rape justifiability. Findings from this between-participant design partially supported…

This study employed multilevel modeling to evaluate individual and situational influences on men's responses to hypothetical dating and social situations. Three hundred and fifty college men completed measures assessing their propensity for sexual aggression and provided written responses to 10 written vignettes, each of which was followed by four…

The current study examined college women's perceptions of the positive and negative socioemotional consequences associated with engaging in self-protective behaviors to reduce risk for sexual victimization. At baseline, women completed assessments of the extent to which they would experience positive or negative socioemotional consequences as a…

This study evaluated the validity of a role-play procedure that uses virtual reality technology to assess women's responses to sexual threat. Forty-eight female undergraduate students were randomly assigned to either a standard, face-to-face role-play (RP) or a virtual role-play (VRP) of a sexually coercive situation. A multimethod assessment…

Background: Studies indicate that a small percentage of rapes are reported to law enforcement officials. Research also suggests that rapes perpetrated by a stranger are more likely to be reported and that rapes involving drugs and/or alcohol are less likely to be reported. College women represent a unique and understudied population with regard to…

In a study conducted among more than 980 American four-year and two-year colleges and universities, including institutions such as the University of Michigan, MIT, UCLA and Columbia, security staff and other administrators identified the five leading goals for their security systems: (1) Preventing unauthorized people from entering their…

This report summarises the evidence considered by the Universities UK (UUK) Taskforce to examine violence against women, harassment and hate crime affecting university students, and makes a series of recommendations for universities and UUK. These recommendations cover both prevention activities and how universities can respond to these issues…

Service learning involves infusing activities into the curriculum that enhance student learning, promote community engagement and effect change on the community level. Significant advantage can be applied to vulnerable communities by leveraging student action, interest, and energy, which can bring time, effort and attention to important community…

This study explored how 333 undergraduate and graduate students attending a large university in the southeastern USA learned about sex, their satisfaction with how they learned about sex, and their self-perceived knowledge before and after taking a human sexuality course. An anonymous, voluntary survey was administered to students in the first and…

The factor structure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains the subject of intense investigation. The DSM three-factor conceptualization of PTSD has not been empirically supported; rather, two four-factor models of PTSD (King, Leskin, King, & Weathers, 1998; Simms, Watson, & Doebbeling, 2002) have garnered the majority of support…

The purpose of the current study is to examine the influence of multiple offender motivations (including no indication of a motivation), relationship length, and gender role beliefs on perceptions of a male-on-female date rape. A sample of 348 U.S. college students read a brief vignette depicting a date rape and completed a questionnaire regarding…

This paper examined the effect of sexualized portrayals of female artists in music videos on college students' perceptions of date rape. 132 college students were randomly assigned to view a music video that contained either high or low levels of sexuality and sexual objectification and were then asked to rate the guilt of the male in a scenario…

In this commentary, the author reflects on her article entitled, "Alcohol and Dating Risk Factors for Sexual Assault Among College Women" (Abbey, Ross, McDuffie, & McAuslan, 1996) and her work in personal, intellectual, and disciplinary context. The original article can be found at http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2050/content/20/1/147. This personal reflection…