In this commentary, the author reflects on two articles that have been among the most highly cited publications in "Psychology of Women Quarterly" ("PWQ") over its first 35 years, "The Hidden Rape Victim: Personality, Attitudinal, and Situational Characteristics" (Koss, 1985) and "Stranger and Acquaintance Rape: Are There Differences in the…

Determined that acknowledged and unacknowledged acquaintance rape victims and rape avoiders could be discriminated by situational variables and response strategies. Avoiders were less likely to have experienced passive or internalizing emotions at the time of the assault, perceived the assault as less violent, and were more likely to have utilized…

Acknowledged rape victims are women who have experienced forced sexual intercourse and view their experience as rape. Unacknowledged rape victims have suffered the same experience but do not view it as rape. Acknowledged (N=39) and unacknowledged (N=29) rape victims completed a sexual experiences interview and a rape attitude survey to determine…

Examined rape by strangers and by acquaintances, including nonromantic acquaintances, casual dates, steady dates, and family members in 489 rape victims. Acquaintance rape typically involved single offender and multiple episodes, was less often perceived as rape or revealed to anyone, and, except for rapes by family members, was rated less…