Two factors potentially affect observers' attributions of responsibility to a rape survivor: how closely they identify with the survivor and how much they adhere to rape myths. To assess the impact of these factors, 157 female college students categorized by their sexual assault history and by their acceptance of rape myths, evaluated a sexual…

Using PsychInfo review of rape and sexual assault publications, the period of greatest fertility coincided with the establishment (1975) and demise (1987) of the National Center for the Prevention and Control of Rape. To document what has been learned and when, the era in which new rape concepts entered the literature is summarized and important…

Evaluates effectiveness of a sexual assault education program on 224 college women. Women in the treatment group participated in a 1-hour sexual assault education program. Participants returned for a 7-month follow-up session and assessment. Results indicate that the program was successful in increasing knowledge about sexual assault, but not…

This study extended the findings of Cleveland, Koss, and Lyon's (1999) research on rape tactics to a sample of college men by examining the use and acceptance of sexually aggressive tactics. Participants included 297 male undergraduate students who filled out instruments assessing for a history of sexual aggression and other personality…

Previous research findings indicate that women suffer a variety of detrimental effects from exposure to violent pornography. This study used an experimental paradigm to examine the effects of a moderate alcohol dose and alcohol expectancies on women's acute reactions to a violent pornographic stimulus. A community sample of female social drinkers…

Women who seek medical care following sexual assault are usually evaluated and treated in an emergency department (ED). Therefore, EDs can be an important source of sexual assault surveillance data. The authors compared the incidence of sexual assault presenting for emergency care in a single county during July to November of 1974 and 1991.…

During the past 20 years, researchers have documented the widespread problem of rape in American society. Approximately one in four women are raped in their adult lifetime, which causes severe psychological distress and long-term physical health problems. The impact of sexual assault extends far beyond rape survivors as their family, friends, and…

The authors compared rates and predictors of sexual aggression for women attending college with those of women from the same population who were not attending college. Because it has been suggested that less parental monitoring at college may be associated with risky behaviors that contribute to sexual aggression, they also compared rates and…

The present study examined psychiatric, physical, and quality-of-life functioning in a sample of 270 women veterans receiving outpatient treatment at a Veterans Affairs medical center. Participants were interviewed regarding their civilian (CSA) and military sexual assault (MSA) histories, and data regarding quality of life and health outcomes…

Discussed is the development and psychometric analysis of a measure of rape-supportive attitudes and beliefs called the Rape Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (RABS), intended for the use with college men. Items were developed from a literature review of "rape myths" that were correlated to some measure of sexual aggression. An exploratory…

Analyzes the role of alcohol in sexual assault. Hierarchical multivariate regression showed that victim alcohol abuse propensity and both victim and offender alcohol use prior to attack were directly associated with more severe sexual victimization to women. Suggests that rape and alcohol abuse prevention efforts can benefit by incorporating…

This study assessed the role of rape myth acceptance (RMA) and situational factors in the perception of three different rape scenarios (date rape, marital rape, and stranger rape). One hundred and eighty-two psychology undergraduates were asked to emit four judgements about each rape situation: victim responsibility, perpetrator responsibility,…

Prevalence and correlates of adult physical assault and rape in six Native American tribes are presented (N = 1,368). Among women, 45% reported being physically assaulted and 14% were raped since age 18 years. For men, figures were 36% and 2%, respectively. Demographic characteristics, adverse childhood experiences, adulthood alcohol dependence,…

A qualitative analysis of interview data with 41 rapists determined that five implicit theories (ITs) underlie rapists' offense supportive beliefs/feelings/motives: (a) dangerous world (DW)--where men have feelings of generalized anger and/or resentment toward others; (b) women are dangerous--where men hold a set of attitudes that are hostile…

Extends previous research on date rape by assessing trauma symptoms and sexual self-esteem among college women who had, or who had not, been raped. Results indicate that rape victims had significantly more trauma symptoms and lower sexual self-esteem compared to other women, thus suggesting date rape's significant consequences. (RJM)