Recent research has demonstrated that many instances of nonconsensual intercourse are never reported to authorities As a consequence, little is known about the determinants of these behaviors To identify the characteristics of male participants in coercive sexual activities, we administered to 201 college males a survey of their involvement in coercive sexual behavior and a battery of measures selected to reflect conceptually relevant dimensions of coercive sexuality Consistent with reports in the literature, male college students reported being involved in a wide spectrum of sexually coercive behaviors The degree of involvement in sexually coercive behavior was found to covary with personality measures of irresponsibility, a lack of social conscience, and a value orientation legitimizing aggression, particularly against women The data suggested that these characterological features were necessary to potentiate the general cultural context of coercive sexuality into personally coercive sexual behavior.

A review of the literature on sexual abuse suggests that many women are repeatedly victimized. To examine the relationship between child and adult sexual victimization, 282 female undergraduates completed questionnaires describing child and adult incidents of sexual abuse. Personality measures (e.g., assertiveness, dependency, self-esteem, and attributional style) and situational variables (family background, and dating and sexual history) were measured to assess their relationship to victimization. Child victimization did not directly predict adult victimization; however, the number of both child and adult victimizations was related to the number of adult consensual sexual partners. A pattern of repeated adult victimization was identified for a group of victims of adult sexual abuse; however, such multiple victimization was not associated with any of the predicted personality variables. Further investigation of women who have been victimized as children and as adults and of adults who present with repeated victimization was identified as a necessary area for further research.

Little information exists on the childhood sexual victimization of males as it occurs in nonclinical samples. Employing a broad funnel-type of questionnaire methodology, the current study examined childhood sexual victimization in two samples of college men consisting of 253 and 329 students from a large Midwestern and Southeastern university, respectively. There was general consistency between the two samples in the prevalence and descriptive features of the abuse. However, different definitions of abuse generated markedly different outcomes in the data. Depending on the definition utilized, prevalence rates varied from 4% to 24% of the samples being defined as “abused.” Moreover, the quality of experiences varied by definition. Using less restrictive definitions, the experiences reported by men were distinctively different from those reported in studies of college women or clinical samples of boys. This study identifies methodological and definitional issues as being critical to the study of childhood sexual victimization, particularly among males.

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Hypermasculinity has been defined as exaggerated masculinity, including callous attitudes toward women and sex, and the perception of violence as manly and danger as exciting (D. L. Mosher & S. S. Tomkins, 1988). Hypermasculinity is correlated with sexual assault, poor relationships, and poor interpersonal coping. Criticisms of existing measures include biased or objectionable language, outdated phrasing, and forced-choice items. To address these problems, rational and empirically based procedures, including factor analysis, were used to develop the Auburn Differential Masculinity Inventory (ADMI). This 60-item inventory provides a total score plus 5 provisional scales reflecting hypermasculinity, sexual identity, dominance and aggression, conservative masculinity, and devaluation of emotion. The ADMI-60 has demonstrated adequate reliability and validity. Subscale development is ongoing. As such, scale scores should be interpreted cautiously.