1 99b) to explain one set of pathways through which alcohol and sexual assault are linked. It was hypothesized that the mutual effects of beliefs and experiences with regard to dating, sexuality, and alcohol increase the likelihood that a man would misperceive a female companion's sexual inten tions, and that this misperception would lead to sexual assault. Self-administered, anonymous surveys were conducted with a representative sample of 814 men at a large urban university. Twenty-six percent of these men reported perpetrating sexual assault. The results of structural equation modeling analyses provided support for the model. Suggestions are made for a more dyadic and dynamic mode of research on this problem, as well as for the development of sexual assault prevention and treatment programs for men.Sexual assault occurs at an unconscionably high rate among college students. About a decade ago Koss, Gidycz, and Wisniewski (1987) conducted a national study of 3,187 women and 2,972 men from 32 different colleges selected to represent the higher education enrollment in the United States. Fifty four percent of the women reported experienc ing some level of sexual assault since the age of 14; and 25% of the men reported perpetrating some level of sexual assault. Sexual assault in cludes a range of forced sexual activities including acts which meet the legal definition of rape (e.g., use of force, lack of consent), verbally coerced sexual intercourse, and forced sexual intercourse (kissing, Lisa Thomson Ross is now at the College of Charleston 167 168 ABBEY, McAUSLAN, AND ROSS touching, or stroking).Assault that met the standard legal definition of completed or attempted rape was experienced by 27"o of the women; 8% of the men reported committing such acts. Eighty-four percent of these sexual assaults occurred between people who knew each other (Koss, 1988). questioned college students specifically about sexual as sault that occur on dates. Seventy-eight percent of the women reported being the victims of sexual assault; 57"o of the men reported perpetrating such assaults. Kanin (1985) found that 2b".. of the college men in his sample had forced sexual intercourse on a date since entering college. Although the difference between the reporting rates for women and men is sizable, and the focus of some debate (Koss et al., 1987;Pineau, 1989), it does not alter the fact that sexual assault is a serious problem among college students.Sexual assault has frequently been linked to alcohol consumption. In the national sample described above, 74% of the men and 55" n of the women reported using alcohol prior to the incident (Koss, 1988). Mue hlenhard and Linton (1987) found that alcohol was consumed by 55% of the men and 53% of the women who reported sexual assault-on a date.Although past research consistently documents the frequent co-occur rence of alcohol consumption and sexual assault, a theoretical frame work explaining this relationship is lacking. As is true for any complex human behavior, there are likely to be multiple...

Self-administered surveys were completed by 197 men in college at 2 time points, 1 year apart. Men who committed sexual assault at multiple time points (repeat assaulters) had the most extreme scores on measures of hostility toward women, past sexual experiences, drinking in sexual situations, and adolescent delinquency. Nonassaulters had the least extreme scores and men who committed sexual assault at only 1 time point had scores that tended to fall in between. Repeat assaulters also expressed significantly less remorse when they described their sexual assault at Time 1 than did past assaulters who committed sexual assault only at the initial time point. These findings demonstrate the importance of initiating prevention and treatment programs in early adolescence, before longstanding attitudes and behaviors tolerant of sexual assault are established.During the past 30 years, there has been an explosion of research on sexual assault victimization and perpetration. Women's experiences as sexual assault victims in adolescence and adulthood have been examined in numerous studies, many of which used large representative samples (Brener, McMahon, Warren, & Douglas, 1999;Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987;National Victim Center, 1992;Stermac, Du Mont, & Dunn, 1998;Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998). Fewer studies have attempted to estimate the prevalence of sexual assault perpetration on the basis of men's self-reports, and most have used college student samples (Abbey, McAuslan, & Ross, 1998;Koss et al., 1987;Kosson, Kelly, & White, 1997;Rapaport & Burkhart, 1984).Reported victimization and perpetration prevalence rates vary depending on the sample and question phrasing. Rape is typically defined as attempted or completed vaginal, anal, or oral sexual intercourse obtained through force, through the threat of force, or when the victim is incapacitated and unable to give consent. Sexual assault is a more inclusive term that covers a range of sex acts, including physically forced sexual contact (e.g., kissing or touching), verbally coerced intercourse, and any acts that constitute rape (Koss et al., 1987;Koss, Heise, & Russo, 1994). In college and community samples, rates of self-reported rape perpetration range from 6% to 15%, and rates of sexual assault perpetration range from 22%Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Antonia Abbey, Department of Community Medicine, Wayne State University, 4201 St. Antoine, Detroit, MI 48201. aabbey@med.wayne.edu. HHS Public Access Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptAuthor ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript to 57% (Abbey et al., 1998;Calhoun, Bernat, Clum, & Frame, 1997;Koss et al., 1987;Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987;Rapaport & Burkhart, 1984;Senn, Desmarais, Verberg, & Wood, 2000).Very few longitudinal studies of sexual assault perpetration have been conducted. Ageton (1983) reported results from a representative sample of adolescents, ages 11-17 years, over a 3-year time period. The pattern of results varied by age and cohort, with the highest annual incidence rate of sexu...

American societal norms frequently link alcohol, dating, and sexuality. This cross‐sectional study examined the role of alcohol and dating risk factors for sexual assault among a representative sample of female students at a large urban university. Over half of the 1,160 women had experienced some form of sexual assault. Ninety‐five percent of these assaults were committed by someone the woman knew and almost half of these assaults involved alcohol consumption by either the man, the woman, or both. Discriminant function analyses indicated that dating, sexual, and misperception experiences and alcohol consumption during these experiences predicted assault group status. Furthermore, alcohol consumption during consensual sex and sexual misperceptions were positively related to alcohol consumption during the sexual assault. The predictors of assault group status were similar for African American and Caucasian women. Theoretical implications are discussed and suggestions are made for combining alcohol and sexual assault prevention programming.

Approximately half of all sexual assaults are associated with either the perpetrator's alcohol consumption, the victim's alcohol consumption, or both. Although the emphasis of this review is on alcohol-involved sexual assaults, their unique aspects can only be evaluated by comparing them to other types of sexual assault. Theoretical perspectives on sexual assault that focus on characteristics of the perpetrator, the victim, and the situation are described. A number of personality traits, attitudes, and past experiences have been systematically linked to sexual assault perpetration, including beliefs about alcohol and heavy drinking. In contrast, only a few experiences have been significantly related to sexual assault victimization, including childhood sexual abuse and heavy drinking. There is support for both psychological and pharmacological mechanisms linking alcohol and sexual assault. Beliefs about alcohol's effects reinforce stereotypes about gender roles and can exacerbate their influence on perpetrators' actions. Alcohol's effects on cognitive and motor skills also contribute to sexual assault through their effects on perpetrators' and victims' ability to process and react to each other's verbal and nonverbal behavior. Limitations with existing research and methodological challenges associated with conducting research on this topic are described. Suggestions are made for future research which can inform prevention and treatment programs.

Past research demonstrates that sexual assault perpetration is caused by multiple factors including attitudes, early experiences, and situational factors. In this study, 343 college men described either a sexual assault they had committed or their worst date. Discriminant function analysis indicated that attitudes about gender roles and alcohol, number of consensual sex partners, how well the man knew the woman, how isolated the setting was, alcohol consumption during the event, the man's misperception of the woman's cues during the event, and prior consensual sexual activity between the man and the woman discriminated between sexual assaults and worst dates. Additionally, tactics used to obtain sex, self attributions, the perceived seriousness of the assault, and the extent to which it disrupted relationships with others significantly discriminated between men who committed forced sexual contact, sexual coercion, and rape. These results demonstrate the importance of considering both individual characteristics and situational factors in theories and prevention activities.Sexual assault is a complex phenomenon, caused by multiple factors both across and within perpetrators. Depending on the definitions and measures used, studies of college men have found that 25% to 57% acknowledged committing sexual assault, with 7% to 15% describing an act that met standard legal definitions of rape (Abbey, McAuslan, & Ross, 1998;Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987;Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987). The study described in this article had three goals. The first goal was to distinguish between college men who had and had not committed sexual assault using a number of attitudinal, experiential, and situational variables. The second goal was to determine if men who had committed different types of sexual assault varied in their attributions and outcomes. The third goal was to highlight different ways in which alcohol contributed to sexual assault, HHS Public Access Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptAuthor ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript including attitudes about alcohol that facilitate sexual assault, past experiences with alcohol in sexual situations, and alcohol consumption during the assault. Although sexual assault research has addressed each of these goals (Koss, Leonard, Beezley, & Oros, 1985;Malamuth, Linz, Heavey, Barnes, & Acker, 1995;Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987), previous studies have not simultaneously examined them with a large group of perpetrators. The relevant literature is summarized below and then the study's hypotheses are described. Attitudes About Gender Roles and AlcoholOne explanation for why sexual assault is so common focuses on societally sanctioned gender role beliefs that justify forced sex. Since the 1970s, feminist writers have described how traditional attitudes about women, dating, and sexual behavior contribute to sexual assault. In Western culture, sex is frequently described in terms of conquest and as a "battle between the sexes" in which eager men seduce reluctant women (Brownmiller, 1975;Clark, Sha...