Sexual Victimization History and Perceived Similarity to a Sexual Assault Victim: A Path Model of Perceiver Variables Predicting Victim Culpability Attributions

Abstract

Extant research consistently has shown that culpability attributions toward sexual assault victims are predicted by perceiver gender, perceived similarity to victims, empathy for victims, and rape myth acceptance. The purpose of the present study was to conceptually organize these predictors, which often have been treated disparately in literature. The present sample was composed of 69 female undergraduate students, recruited from a psychology research pool at a university in the southwestern United States. Results of a path analysis demonstrated strong empirical support for a hypothesized causal model linking perceivers' sexual victimization histories and, in turn, perceptions of similarity to a sexual assault victim based upon these histories, to established predictors of perceivers' culpability attributions toward sexual assault victims. Basic and applied research implications are discussed.

Rape Crimes Reviewed: The Role of Observer Variables in Female Victim Blaming

“…Furthermore, hostile sexism was found not to be related to victim blaming in some studies depicting date rape scenarios (e.g., Pedersen & Strömwall, 2013;Viki & Abrams, 2002). Higher myth acceptance (e.g., Basow & Minieri, 2011;Cohn et al, 2009;Frese et al, 2004;Grubb & Tarn, 2012;Hammond et al, 2011) and lower rape empathy scores (e.g., Miller et al, 2011;Smith & Frieze, 2003) were suggested to predict increased victim blame.…”

“…With reference to the relationship among the four variables under review and victim blaming, most of the literature suggests that gender may predict victim blaming and that this relation is mediated by the degree of rape myth acceptance (e.g., Hammond et al, 2011;Miller et al, 2011). The defensive attributions based on the perceived similarity to a target (Shaver, 1970) may also promote these gendered differences in rape victim blaming, since women may assume themselves as more similar to the victim, hence assigning less blame; this relationship between defensive attribution and victim blaming may be mediated by empathy, as suggested by Shaver (1970).…”

“…Similarly, empathy was reported to impact rape blaming judgments, with most of the studies showing that such dispositional characteristic decreases the levels of blame and responsibility attributed to the victim (e.g., Gannon, 2002;Miller et al, 2011;Smith & Frieze, 2003). Smith and Frieze (2003), using Rape-Victim Empathy and RapePerpetrator Empathy scales within a sample of American undergraduates, showed that the first scale was negatively correlated with perceived rape victim empathy (but only for women) and the second was negatively correlated with victim responsibility, for both men and women.…”

“…Rape victim empathy has also been shown to be negatively related to rape myth acceptance (Forbes, Adams-Curtis, Pakalka, & White, 2006;Gerger et al, 2007;Jimenez & Abreu, 2003;Mason et al, 2004;Miller et al, 2011). Likewise, people with rape experience were proven to be more empathetic towards a victim than those without personal victimization (Osman, 2011(Osman, , 2014Smith & Frieze, 2003).…”

“…One of the most pivotal findings to emerge was the existence of gender differences in expressing empathy, since women seem to express more empathy towards rape victims (Anastasio & Costa, 2004;Diehl et al, 2014;George & Martínez, 2002;Mellor, Fung, & Mammat, 2012;Miller, Amacker, & King, 2011;Osman, 2011Osman, , 2014Paul et al, 2014;Sakallı-Uğurlu et al, 2007;Smith & Frieze, 2003) and men towards perpetrators (Ferrão et al, 2013;Mellor et al, 2012;Osman, 2011;Sakallı-Uğurlu et al, 2007;Smith & Frieze, 2003). Rape victim empathy has also been shown to be negatively related to rape myth acceptance (Forbes, Adams-Curtis, Pakalka, & White, 2006;Gerger et al, 2007;Jimenez & Abreu, 2003;Mason et al, 2004;Miller et al, 2011).…”