This study examines victim, offender, and offence characteristics associated with sexual assaults by strangers of older women compared to those against younger women. Cases are obtained from the Serious Crime Analysis Section of the United Kingdom National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA; formerly Centrex). All possible cases of rape, attempted…

Purpose: To evaluate the association between history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and having transactional sex among adolescents who have been in foster care. Methods: We used an existing dataset of youth transitioning out of foster care. Independent CSA variables included self report of history of sexual molestation and rape when participants…

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…

Prior research suggests that rape victims who do not disclose or report to the police give reasons including self-blame and fear of judgment; however, this research has not been conducted with incarcerated women. Female offenders are a unique population because they experience high rates of sexual assault prior to incarceration. This study…

Objective: This study investigated the impact of avoidant coping on treatment outcome in rape-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Method: Adult women with rape-related PTSD (N = 62) received 9 sessions of prolonged exposure (PE) or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). The mean age for the sample was 34.7 years, and race…

This study assessed the impact of running away on pregnancy in the subsequent year among U.S. adolescents. We also investigated interactions between running away and sexual assault, romance, and school disengagement. Pregnancy among females between 11 and 17 years (n = 6100) was examined utilizing the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add…

Although studies indicate school-based HIV/AIDS education programs effectively reduce risky behaviors, only 33 states and the District of Columbia in US mandate HIV/AIDS education. Ideally, school-based HIV/AIDS education should begin before puberty, or at the latest before first sexual intercourse. In 2011, 20% US states had fewer schools…

A dose-response model underlies posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posits a relationship between event magnitude and clinical outcome. The present study examines whether one index of event magnitude--duration of exposure--contributes to risk of PTSD among female victims of sexual assault. Findings support a small but significant contribution…

Objectives: Previous research suggests that women's early sexual victimization experiences may influence their parenting behaviors and increase the vulnerability of their children to being sexually victimized. The current study considered whether mother's sexual victimization experiences, in childhood and after age 14, were associated with the…

Rape, sexual violence, psychological violence, and physical violence, among college students have been a concern. Lifetime events are often studied but not violence that specifically transpires while one is in college. Underrepresented groups such as Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, students who are gay, lesbian, and bisexual, and students who…

Male college students (N = 395) completed anonymous surveys to report personal attitudes supporting sexual aggression and estimated the attitudes of their peers. Participants also indicated their willingness to intervene against a peer if they witnessed sexual aggression. Although both personal and peer attitudes were correlated with willingness…

Past theory and empirical research have consistently associated a number of risk factors with sexual assault perpetration. This study extends past research by considering if the tactics which perpetrators use to obtain sex are associated with these risk factors or with characteristics of the sexual assault. Audio computer-assisted self-interviews…

This study examines the relationship between dating violence, forced sexual intercourse (FSI), and four measures of sexual risk taking (i.e., age at first sex, number of recent (within the last three months) sex partners, alcohol/drug use at last sex, and condom use at last sex) among a sample of 1124 ethnically diverse sexually active adolescents…

This study assesses the correlations of participation in a prevention program, Men Creating Attitudes for Rape-free Environments (Men CARE), and participants' attitudes and behavior toward sexual violence. The t-tests were used to determine the association, either by the intervention or the cohort, on attitudes and behaviors between the groups,…

The aim of this study is to explore the effect of exposure to sexist humor about women on men's self-reported rape proclivity. Earlier studies have shown that exposure to this type of humor increases rape proclivity and that funniness responses to jokes are a key element to consider. However, the role of aversiveness responses has not been…