Survey of 1,121 adolescent females, including 303 who reported being sexually assaulted, found that White females were twice as likely as Mexican Americans to have reported sexual assault. Compared to nonvictims, sexual assault victims reported more emotional distress, social isolation, and deviant behavior; poorer school adjustment; and greater…

Constructed 25-item Attitudes toward Rape Victims Scale (ARVS) which emphasized victim blame, credibility, deservingness, denigration, and trivialization. Results from administration of ARVS to university students, social workers, psychologists, physicians, lawyers, and police officers in Singapore, and to university students in the United States…

Reports on the effect of AIDS education on college students. Lists reasons for underestimating personal risk: illusions of invulnerability, the long incubation period of AIDS, drugs and sexual experimentation, underestimating partners' risky sexual behaviors, and acquaintance rape. Concludes that increasing knowledge will not necessarily promote…

The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to determine fraternity men and student athletes' perceptions of a commonly used rape-prevention program. Participants saw "The Men's Program" and then participated in 60-90 minute focus groups assessing whether their attitudes and behavior would change, what about the program led to that change, and…

Objective: This study from Norway examines the relative influence of child sexual abuse (CSA) and family background risk factors (FBRF) on the risk for current mental disorders and the quality of current intimate relationships in women with CSA treated for anxiety disorders and/or depression. Women with these disorders frequently seek treatment,…

While some researchers question whether women can be more vulnerable to sexual assault because of personal characteristics and/or behavioral styles, typical research designs into this question draw on retrospective comparisons of victims and non-victims, making it difficult to determine whether the observed differences are causes, correlates, or…

Developments concerning women's education and employment, legislation and court cases that affect women, and the latest model programs and resources are presented in this newsletter issue. Specific topics include: sexual harassment and sexual attacks on women on college campuses; the progress of black and white women in science and engineering;…

The purpose of this pamphlet is to aid teachers, counselors, administrators, paraprofessionals, and other support personnel in alleviating the problem of missing and abducted children. After an introductory overview of the national incidence of missing children, three specific categories of missing children are identified and discussed: runaways,…

This report reviews the legal status of female homemakers in the Virgin Islands and makes suggestions for action and legislation which will be more equitable in protecting homemakers' rights. The laws described in the report apply to wives who work at home as well as outside the home, but the report mainly concerns homemakers without outside…

Presents a model hypothesizing indirect effects of media sexual violence on aggression against women. Suggests that cultural factors and individual variables interact to affect thought patterns and other responses that may lead to antisocial behavior. Discusses relevance of model to current research trends, including laboratory and naturalistic…

The responsibilities of school personnel in detecting and dealing with incest are discussed: (1) knowledge about incestuous behavior; (2) observation and detection; (3) reporting and referrals; (4) counseling and followup; and (5) prevention. (FG)

Three studies of curative factor rankings for female incest survivor groups are summarized and compared with Yalom's (1975) study. A time-limited group is compared with two studies of long-term groups. Limitations, suggestions for future research, and clinical implications are addressed. (JBJ)

Rape victims' gaze behavior when identifying a defendant and the prior relationship between victim and defendant were examined for effects on rape culpability attributions. In comparison with victims who used gaze maintenance or natural gaze behavior, rape victims' gaze avoidance was perceived as indicative of less truthfulness rather than…

Reports on a study of the depiction of women in 54 college criminology textbooks published between 1956 and 1992. Finds that, although recent textbooks have made important strides about discussing women as victims, they say far less about women's ability to resist oppression by words and deeds. (CFR)

Violence is a part of daily life in the United States, the world's leader in the number of homicides, rapes, and assaults. This working paper examines the issue of violence in the United States from a gender equity perspective. Gendered violence is reinforced by cultural beliefs that allow individuals and groups to use violence to establish and…