Two theories of rape reporting, the Classic Rape perspective and Black's Theory of the Behavior of Law, are tested in this article. We offer the first comprehensive multivariate test of Classic Rape predictions among a nationally representative sample of victims, as well as the first test of Black's predictions for rape reporting. Through the construction of multinomial regression models, we are able to examine reporting patterns for both victims and third parties. Weapon use and physical injury consistently predicted reporting. The likelihood of victim reporting significantly increased when assaults occurred either in public or through a "home blitz," whereas place of assault did not affect the likelihood of third-party reporting. On the other hand, victim-offender relationship significantly affected the likelihood of third-party reporting but was not significant in the victim-reporting models. There were mixed findings regarding Black's stratification and morphology predictions, and we found no significant effects for culture, organization, or social control. Overall, these findings lend greater support to the Classic Rape perspective than to Black's model.

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While efforts to criminalize spousal rape began in the 1970s, by 2002 only twenty-three states had adopted laws that allow for the full prosecution of sexual assault by a spouse. The authors present the first analysis of martial rape law reform to incorporate insights from research on diffusion. The authors find that states are more likely to criminalize spousal rape when women in the state have more economic power. Conversely, states are less likely to criminalize spousal rape when the legislature passed previous incremental reforms or when a neighboring state already criminalized spousal rape. The authors also find that states that criminalize spousal rape under a split-party government are particularly influential in the spread of such reforms and that the processes driving early diffusion are different than the processes driving later diffusion. Overall, results suggest that understanding law reforms requires greater attention to incremental change, negative effects of spatial diffusion, and the importance of time.

Is there a relationship between victimization and subsequent behaviors, and if so, does victimization lead to risky or constrained activities? Previous research is mixed, possibly due to limitations associated with selection bias, cross-sectional data, and floor and ceiling effects. The current study examines how victimization influences lifestyles using longitudinal National Crime Victimization Survey data. To avoid problems of selection bias and spuriousness, we use a propensity score matching approach to compare the subsequent lifestyles of victims and nonvictims. We find that victims tend to engage in higher levels of risky behavior following victimization than do nonvictims at similar points in time but that differences are due to preexisting factors that distinguish victims from nonvictims and not due to the victimization event, itself.

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