A Longitudinal Examination of Male College Students' Perpetration of Sexual Assault.

Abstract

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...

Alcohol Expectancy, Drinking Behavior, and Sexual Victimization Among Female and Male College Students

“…The use of alcohol among college students has been consistently linked to experiences of sexual assault (Abbey, 2002;Mouilso et al, 2012;Perkins, 2002), and gender continues to play an integral role in this association (Abbey & McAuslan, 2004;Fisher et al, 2000). Abbey, Ross, McDuffie, and McAuslan (1996) found that alcohol consumption on the part of either the perpetrator or the victim was involved in 46% of the reported cases of sexual assault.…”

“…Moreover, approximately 25% to 30% of college women have experienced some form of sexual victimization that is related to problem drinking behaviors (Brahms, Ahl, Reed, & Amaro, 2011;Lawyer, Resnick, Bakanic, Burkett, & Kilpatrick, 2010;Lindgren, Neighbors, Blayney, Mullins, & Kaysen, 2012). Although the majority of research emphasizes the dichotomy of men as perpetrators (Abbey & McAuslan, 2004;Wells et al, 2014) and women as victims (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000), as many as 14% of college men have experienced some form of sexual assault as an adult (Aosved, Long, & Voller, 2011). Experiences of sexual assault among college students can range from sexually coercive tactics (e.g., threatening to disclose negative information about the person; Tyler, Hoyt, & Whitbeck, 1998) to attempted and completed rape (Fisher et al, 2000).…”

Does Alcohol Contribute to the Confluence Model of Sexual Assault Perpetration?

“…Sexual assault typically occurs in dating and party situations in which alcohol consumption is common (Abbey, 2002;Testa, 2002). College student perpetrators report drinking significantly more alcohol in dating and consensual sexual situations than do nonperpetrators (Abbey & McAuslan, 2004;Abbey et al, 1998).…”

Assessing the Use of Employment Screening for Sexual Assault Prevention

“…For example, some research has shown an association between responses to rape-myth acceptance scales (e.g., "When women talk and act sexy, they are inviting rape"), which address misperceived justification of rape and of sexual assault perpetration (Carr and VanDeusen, 2004;Zawacki et al, 2003). Research with civilian samples has also shown an association between responses to measures of hostility toward women (e.g., "Sometimes women bother me by just being around") and sexual assault perpetration (Abbey and McAuslan, 2004;Hall et al, 2000). Other attitudinal measures that appear to be somewhat associated with sexual assault perpetration include beliefs in traditional gender roles (e.g., "It is ridiculous for a woman to run a train and a man to sew clothes" [Abbey, McAuslan, and Ross, 1998]) and hypermasculinity or hostile masculinity (e.g., "I know feminists want to be like men because men are better than women" [Malamuth et al, 1995]).…”

“…Studies examining criterion-related validity may use predictive methodology, involving data collection at different times, or concurrent methodology, involving data collection at the same time. Although no assessment is without limitations (e.g., see Hall, 1990), criterion-related validity assessments that may be considered include a prospective study involving Air Force personnel or applicants (e.g., Thompson et al, 2011), a longitudinal study involving Air Force personnel or applicants (e.g., Abbey and McAuslan, 2004), and examination of the association between responses of Air Force applicants or personnel to these measures and their responses about previous sexual assault behavior or their responses about the extent to which they would conduct sexual assault if there were no chance of being caught (e.g., see Drieschner and Lange, 1999). This assessment may therefore entail examining the association of scores on an integrity test administered at one time with later behavior, or it may involve examining the associations between responses to assessments that are administered at the same time.…”