Sexual Assault Perpetrators’ Tactics: Associations With Their Personal Characteristics and Aspects of the Incident

Abstract

Past theory and empirical research have consistently associated a number of risk factors with sexual assault perpetration. This study extends past research by considering if the tactics which perpetrators use to obtain sex are associated with these risk factors or with characteristics of the sexual assault. Audio computer-assisted self-interviews were completed with a community sample of young, single men. Few participants reported using physical force as a tactic to obtain sex, thus this article focuses on 457 participants who used verbal coercion (n = 152) or the victim’s impairment (n = 39) to obtain sex or who were nonperpetrators (n = 266). Discriminant function analysis correctly classified 70% of participants. As hypothesized, analysis of covariance indicated that both groups of perpetrators scored higher than nonperpetra-tors on measures of negative attitudes toward women, positive attitudes about casual sex, personality traits associated with nonclinical levels of psy-chopathy, antisocial behavior, and alcohol problems. As compared to non-perpetrators describing their worst date, perpetrators knew the woman longer, used more isolating and controlling behaviors, misperceived her sexual intentions for a longer period of time, and engaged in more consensual sexual activities with the woman. Perpetrators who used impairment tactics did not usually consume more alcohol than other participants; however, they consumed much more alcohol during the incident. Although verbal coercion and taking advantage of an impaired victim are sometimes viewed as less serious tactics than the use of force, these findings demonstrate that perpetrators who use these strategies have personality, attitude, and experience profiles that distinguish them from nonperpetrators.

How to score the Sexual Experiences Survey? A comparison of nine methods.

“…Notably, the use of force or threats thereof was rarely reported by the perpetrators in this sample - a common finding when using community samples (Abbey & Jacques-Tiura, 2011). Studies that include a large number of perpetrators who report the use of force may find that scoring methods which distinguish among the three primary perpetrator tactics have higher convergent validity associations compared to the conventional scoring method.…”

Relationship Type and Sexual Precedence

“…It seems reasonable that men who do not know a woman well and who have never had sex with her would be less likely to believe they could talk a reluctant woman into having sex and be more likely to select a victim who is unable to verbally or physically resist. Previous analyses with this data set (Abbey & Jacques-Tiura, 2011) found that alcohol was the primary substance used in these incidents; none involved date rape drugs such as Rohypnol. Despite the attention to date rape drugs in the media, alcohol is the drug of choice for most perpetrators (Abbey, 2011; Lisak & Miller, 2002).…”

Predicting sexual aggression in male college students in Brazil.

“…The younger the age at first sexual intercourse and the greater the number of sexual partners, the more frequent the occasions where sexual aggression may be shown. In support of this claim, sexually aggressive men were found to be more sexually active than nonperpetrators (Abbey & Jacques-Tiura, 2011) and to show a greater preference for impersonal sex with varying partners (Swartout, 2012).…”