Objective: College women are at high risk for sexual assault, especially women with a history of sexual victimization. The present study uses a longitudinal design to explore the role of sexual assertiveness, psychological barriers to resistance, and resistance self-efficacy as putative mediators between prior sexual victimization and sexual revictimization among a sample of 296 college women. Method: Women completed assessments of sexual victimization since the age of 14, as well as putative mediator variables at a baseline assessment. Sexual revictimization was assessed over a 7-month interim. Results: Results of structural equation modeling indicated that the relationship between baseline and follow-up sexual assault was mediated by the study variables. Follow-up analyses suggested that sexual assertiveness served as a particularly salient mediator. Conclusions: These findings suggest that increasing women's sexual assertiveness skills may be a particularly important component of reducing risk for sexual revictimization among women with a history of assault.
The purpose of this study was to better understand young adults' perceptions of what behaviors constitute intimate partner violence (IPV) and the correlates of these perceptions using a comprehensive measure of IPV perceptions and behaviors. Participants were undergraduates (aged 18-25), including 357 women and 346 men ( N = 703) from the midwestern region of the United States, who completed surveys for course credit. Results demonstrated that young women and men on average reported that acts of physical, sexual, and psychological IPV were abusive. However, young women generally rated these behaviors as more abusive than young men, male-to-female (M-to-F) IPV was viewed as more abusive than female-to-male (F-to-M) IPV, and physical IPV was considered the most abusive form of IPV, followed by sexual IPV, which was rated as more abusive than psychological IPV. Furthermore, among men, a history of IPV perpetration and victimization generally predicted decreased perceptions that acts were abusive; however, among women, histories of IPV perpetration and victimization were generally unrelated to abuse perceptions. These data underscore the importance of the inclusion of psychoeducation about the seriousness of all forms of IPV in IPV prevention programming and the importance of situation-specific and targeted IPV prevention messages. Moreover, future research is needed to replicate and better understand the explanatory mechanisms underlying the relationships among a history of IPV, abuse perceptions, and gender.
Using a mixed methodology, the present study compared men's and women's perceived benefits and emotional reactions with participating in research that inquired about child maltreatment and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and perpetration. Participants consisted of 703 college students (357 women, 346 men), ages 18 to 25 who reported on their childhood maltreatment, adolescent and adult IPV victimization and perpetration, and their reactions (perceived benefits and emotional effects) to participating. Participants' reactions to participating were assessed using quantitative scales, as well as open-ended written responses that were content coded by researchers. Women reported more personal benefits from research, whereas men and women reported similar levels of emotional reactions to research participation. Furthermore, greater frequencies of child maltreatment and IPV victimization were related to higher levels of emotional reactions. Common self-identified reasons for emotional reactions (e.g., not liking to think about abuse in general, personal victimization experiences) and benefits (e.g., reflection and awareness about oneself, learning about IPV) were also presented and analyzed. These data underscore the importance of future research that examines the behavioral impact of research participation utilizing longitudinal and in-depth qualitative methodologies. Findings also highlight the potential psychoeducational value of research on understanding the reasons underlying participants' benefits and emotional effects.
Objective: Little research examines factors contributing to specific motives for physical dating violence (DV) perpetration. This study explores this gap in the literature with a specific focus on gender, coping, DV perpetration and victimization, and attitudes toward violence. Method: The sample included 221 college students who reported a history of physical DV perpetration and completed surveys for course credit. Results: Physical DV motivated by emotional expression/dysregulation was associated with physical DV perpetration frequency and disengagement coping for the full sample, and associated with accepting attitudes toward physical DV among women only. Physical DV motivated by control/tough guise was associated with accepting attitudes toward physical DV for the full sample, and physical DV perpetration frequency more strongly for men than women. Physical DV motivated by self-defense was associated with disengagement coping for the full sample, DV perpetration frequency for men, and physical DV victimization frequency more strongly for women than men. Conclusion: Results suggest that DV prevention programming for college students should incorporate focus on coping skills and decreasing accepting attitudes of DV. Results also provide preliminary support for gender-specific tailoring of programs that incorporate emotion regulation and communication skills for women; and among men, deconstructing patriarchal values among frequent perpetrators.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.