College Students’ Social Reactions to the Victim in a Hypothetical Sexual Assault Scenario: The Role of Victim and Perpetrator Alcohol Use

Untied, Amy S.; Orchowski, Lindsay M.; Mastroleo, Nadine R.

doi:10.1891/0886-6708.27.6.957

Cited by 30 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…All of these differences may contribute to social reactions women receive from others..Prior research suggests that that alcohol-specific social reactions, will likely benegative. In experimental studies using sexual assault scenarios, people are more likely to blame survivors and hold them responsible when presented with information that survivors had been drinking (Cameron & Strizke, 2003; Norris & Cubbins, 1992; Richardson & Campbell, 1982; Schuller & Stewart, 2000; Sims, Noel, & Maisto, 2007; Stormo, Lang, & Stritzke, 1997; Untied, Orchowski, Mastroleo, & Gidycz, 2012). Victim blame partly depends on the perpetrators’ alcohol use.…”

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confidence: 99%

Measuring Social Reactions to Female Survivors of Alcohol-Involved Sexual Assault

Relyea

Ullman

2014

J Interpers Violence

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For women who disclose sexual assault, social reactions can affect post-assault adjustment (Ullman, 2000). Approximately half of sexual assaults of adult women involve alcohol use (Abbey et al., 2004). Experimental studies indicate that people put more blame on women who were drinking before the assault, yet no studies have assessed how often actual survivors receive social reactions specific to their alcohol use. This study presents a new measure to assess alcohol-specific social reactions for survivors of sexual assault (The Social Reactions Questionnaire –Alcohol, SRQ-A). Factor analyses of a large community sample indicated that women often receive both positive and negative alcohol-specific reactions when disclosing assault. Discriminant validity confirmed that such reactions are distinct from other types of assault-related social reactions. Against predictions, alcohol-specific reactions were not associated with depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms, binge drinking, or intoxication. However, in support of hypotheses, alcohol-specific reactions were related to increased characterological self-blame and alcohol problems. Notably, such reactions had both positive and negative relationships with self-blame, indicating a potential avenue for intervention. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

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confidence: 99%

Measuring Social Reactions to Female Survivors of Alcohol-Involved Sexual Assault

Relyea

Ullman

2014

J Interpers Violence

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“…Another explanation for why no effect of complainant intoxication was found on complainant credibility or blame is the absence of a no alcohol condition in this study. Previous studies which have found an effect of complainant intoxication on complainant blame have used no alcohol conditions, where the complainant does not drink at all, with the largest differences in complainant blame observed between no alcohol and alcohol conditions (e.g., Untied et al, 2012;A. M. Wall & Schuller, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intoxicated But Not Incapacitated: Are There Effective Methods to Assist Juries in Interpreting Evidence of Voluntary Complainant Intoxication in Cases of Rape?

Nitschke

Masser

McKimmie

et al. 2018

J Interpers Violence

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Jurors often negatively evaluate complainants making allegations of rape when those complainants were intoxicated at the time of the assault. It is, therefore, essential that legal practitioners have effective methods of ensuring that jurors use evidence of intoxication for the legally permissible purpose, which is to determine the complainant's cognitive capacity to consent. This study examines whether providing judicial instructions about how jurors should make use of complainant intoxication evidence assists jurors to use this evidence appropriately. University students ( N = 212) read a case synopsis of an Australian criminal trial in which the complainant described experiencing mild or moderate levels of cognitive impairment due to alcohol consumption. Participants were then given a standard instruction about using the evidence of the complainant's intoxication or one that provided an upper decision limit for determining complainant cognitive capacity (providing inference support). As expected, presenting evidence about the complainant's alcohol-impaired cognitive state attenuated participants' negative perceptions of the complainant. The judicial instructions also assisted participants as they evaluated a moderately intoxicated complainant as less capable of consenting when participants received an instruction that supported the correct inference to draw from the evidence compared to a standard instruction. However, parallel mediation analysis showed that rape schemas mediated the relationship between perceived complainant capacity to consent and perceptions of defendant guilt. Judicial instructions that support perceivers' inferences may assist participants to more appropriately evaluate information about complainants' intoxication, however problematically, rape schemas still influenced decisions about defendant guilt.

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“…The prevalence of first victimization of completed rape (defined as forced penetration and completed alcohol-or-drug-facilitated penetration) among females is 78.7% occurring before the age of 25 years, with 38.3% of completed rapes occurring during the age associated with college, 18-24 years (Black et., 2011). Supporting the NISVS data, various studies have shown that more than one in four college women report being forced to have sexual intercourse at some point in their lifetimes (Gidycz, Orchowski, King, & Rich, 2008;Gross, Winslett, Roberts, & Gohm, 2006;Untied, Orchowski, Mastroleo, & Gidycz, 2012). The estimated sexual violence reported by men is lower than that experienced by women.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Assessing a comprehensive approach to prevent sexual violence on campus: Implications for program improvement

Ejikeme

Powell-Threets

Bayo

et al. 2017

JGPHA

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Background: On college campuses, sexual violence (or sexual assault) is at epidemic proportions. As many as one in four college women experience sexual assaults, most of which are not reported, likely due to the adverse reactions stemming from social norms and attitudes about rape. To prevent sexual violence on college campuses, the multi-level factors influencing it necessitate implementation of a holistic approach channeled at all levels. The present multi-method study assessed the feasibility and effectiveness of a peer educator (PE)-facilitated program implemented as part of a comprehensive sexual assault prevention program in three small Georgia colleges.Methods: Student participants (N=128) were questioned on their attitude toward rape myths, intention to rape, and likelihood to intervene in a potential rape situation. Paired t-tests for pre-/post-test scores assessed statistical differences in mean levels of outcomes at the data collection points. In addition, a qualitative assessment explored the feasibility of implementing, on campus, a long-duration program for prevention of sexual violence. Results:The findings indicated that, after exposure to the program, participants demonstrated decreased rape myth beliefs and intention to commit rape and an increased likelihood to intervene in a potential rape situation. In addition, apart from attaining regular student attendance in the 10-week sessions of the program, implementation of the "One on Four & Beyond" program proved to be feasible. Conclusions:This preliminary, multi-approach study suggests the effectiveness of a school PE-facilitated prevention program as a component of a comprehensive approach in reducing sexual violence on campus. Future studies are necessary to enhance understanding of the impact of the program.

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College Students’ Social Reactions to the Victim in a Hypothetical Sexual Assault Scenario: The Role of Victim and Perpetrator Alcohol Use

Cited by 30 publications

References 47 publications

Measuring Social Reactions to Female Survivors of Alcohol-Involved Sexual Assault

Measuring Social Reactions to Female Survivors of Alcohol-Involved Sexual Assault

Intoxicated But Not Incapacitated: Are There Effective Methods to Assist Juries in Interpreting Evidence of Voluntary Complainant Intoxication in Cases of Rape?

Assessing a comprehensive approach to prevent sexual violence on campus: Implications for program improvement

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