ERIC Number: EJ992450
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Sep
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0886-2605
EISSN: N/A
Sexual Attitudes Mediate the Relationship between Sexual Victimization History and Women's Response Effectiveness
Nason, Erica E.; Yeater, Elizabeth A.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, v27 n13 p2565-2581 Sep 2012
This study evaluated the effects of a sexual victimization history, sexual attitudes, and psychopathology on the effectiveness of women's responses to high- and low-risk dating and social situations. Two hundred fifteen undergraduate women listened to a description of each situation, viewed a clip of an actor making a verbal request, and provided a videotaped, verbal response to each situation. Participants then completed measures assessing their victimization history, sexual attitudes, and symptoms of psychopathology. Finally, participants viewed their responses and rated how effective each response was at decreasing their risk for having an unwanted sexual experience, defined as one in which they would be verbally or physically coerced into having sexual contact of any kind with a man. Experts in the sexual violence research area also rated the effectiveness of participants' responses using the same instructions. Results revealed that sexual attitudes mediated the relationship between victimization history and the effectiveness of participants' responses to high- and low-risk situations. Specifically, more severe victimization experiences were linked to more liberal sexual attitudes, which, in turn, were related to responses that were rated by experts as less effective in decreasing risk of sexual victimization.
Descriptors: Psychopathology, Sexuality, Violence, Females, Victims of Crime, Risk, Sexual Harassment, Attitude Measures, Student Attitudes, Responses, Experience, Dating (Social), Interpersonal Relationship, Undergraduate Students, Vignettes, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Check Lists, Questionnaires
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Beck Depression Inventory; Sexual Experiences Survey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A