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 purpose of this investigation was to develop a culturally relevant rape myth acceptance scale for Koreans. Three studies on the Korean Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (KRMAS) with approximately 1,000 observations provide initial validity and reliability. Specifically, results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support four subscales:…

This article explores a hypothesis that the Internet and the World Wide Web form an alternative resource to that provided by conventional adult education providers. The example used is the dissemination and transfer of information on and analysis of issues concerning women and violence. Four important issues for adult (that is, post-compulsory)…

This paper presents a model for teaching an undergraduate social work macro practice course utilizing an experiential learning paradigm. The model provides a campus-based project with social work majors in simultaneous dual roles of students and grassroots leaders, focusing on rape and sexual assault prevention training for college students. This…

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…

An abundance of surveys and news reports have clearly indicated that sexual assaults and other violent crimes are prevalent on U.S. college and university campuses. What isn't as well known is how little is being done by most institutions to try and reduce this fact. Poor awareness of the reality of crime rates, combined with widespread policies…

Fraternity men (N = 261) at a small to midsized public university saw one of two versions of a rape prevention program or were in a control group. Program participants reported significant increases in empathy toward rape survivors and significant declines in rape myth acceptance, likelihood of raping, and likelihood of committing sexual assault.…

One factor related to postrape trauma is the survivor's belief about the cause of the rape. Most research to date on the relation between causal attributions and postrape recovery has been guided by a theoretical model which proposes that certain types of self-blame can be adaptive for survivors. Specifically, behavioral self-blame is thought to…

The prevalence of rape points to a need for effective prevention strategies. Ultimately, however, preventing rape necessitates changing men's attitudes and behavior. This study investigated the effects of a lecture aimed at changing the attitudes of men. Also investigated were the effects of lecturer sex (male, female, or male-female team or no…

Recent trials have brought the issue of date rape into public awareness. It is appropriate to examine the impact of variables such as the appearance of the accuser, the relationship between the accuser and the defendant, and the behavior of the accuser and defendant on attributions of responsibility in a rape situation. This study manipulated…

Several investigations have demonstrated that individuals tend to blame the victims of personal misfortune. However, few studies have been conducted to determine the dimensionality of the victim blame construct. Previous research has distinguished between two kinds of self-blame: behavioral and characterological. Individuals may blame themselves…

According to a recent study a rape occurs every 7 minutes and 60% of those rapes happen on dates. This study examined the impact of assault outcomes (rape, avoidance) and victim's power strategy (direct/bilateral, indirect/unilateral) on male and female evaluations of a date rape situation. College students (N=121) listened to a taped dialogue and…

The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) collects data on crimes that are not reported to the police as well as those that are reported. Because some crimes are difficult or impossible to examine in a general population survey, the NCVS measures only the personal victimizations of rape, robbery, assault, and theft, and the household crimes…

Staff of a rape crisis agency recognized the need for counseling services for survivors of sexual assault, but were unable to provide on-going counseling on a regular basis due to a staffing shortage. A support group for adult female rape victims was formed to reduce individual therapists' caseloads, to provide counseling services to a greater…