Verbal Sexual Coercion Experiences, Sexual Risk, and Substance Use in Women

Abstract

Research has linked sexual assault, substance use, and sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk in women. Sexual assault by means of verbal sexual coercion (VSC) is more common than sexual assault by means of physical tactics, but VSC is rarely assessed independently. In addition, past work has established global connections among substance use, sexual assault history, and STI risk; however, assessing substance use during sexual behavior is less common. This study examined the relations among VSC, STI risk behavior, and substance use and attitudes. We hypothesized that women with larger numbers of VSC experiences would report more frequent sexual risk behaviors and substance use and attitudes. Participants with larger numbers of VSC experiences reported larger numbers of anal sex partners, more frequent penile–vaginal sex and sexual activity after substance use, and stronger sex-related alcohol expectancies. These findings suggest that VSC is associated with higher levels of STI risk in women.

Exploring Definitions and Prevalence of Verbal Sexual Coercion and Its Relationship to Consent to Unwanted Sex: Implications for Affirmative Consent Standards on College Campuses

“…Recent research has also shown that variables representing manipulation tactics and substance use or force load onto separate factors, indicating that it may be useful to separate VSC from incapacitation and force as tactics to obtain sex from unwilling partners [ 38 ]. We attest, as with many other scholars, that verbal sexual coercion is just one tactic of sexual assault on a continuum ranging from non-forceful verbal tactics to incapacitation to physical force [ 26 , 34 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 43 , 44 , 46 , 66 , 71 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 ]. There are many reasons articulated throughout this paper as to why we believe that this conceptualization is necessary, but it is also worth noting that research has suggested that women experience similar levels of distress despite the type of perpetration tactic [ 97 ], suggesting the utility of including tactics of verbal sexual coercion on a continuum with other perpetrator tactics.…”

“…Many scholars use the terms sexual coercion and sexual assault interchangeably or that sexual coercion encompasses all types of perpetration tactics that lead to sexual assault [ 59 , 74 ]. In these studies, sexual coercion is defined as a continuum of tactics to elicit sexual activity from unwilling partners ranging from non-forceful verbal tactics to physical force, with taking advantage of women due to voluntary or administered alcohol and/or drug intoxication somewhere in the middle [ 26 , 34 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 43 , 44 , 46 , 66 , 71 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 ]. Sexual coercion has also been specifically defined as tactics used following a partner’s refusal to sexual advances [ 36 , 46 , 48 , 70 , 81 ].…”

“…This tactic is typically labeled as “verbal sexual coercion” (VSC) or “verbal coercion” (VC) and has been defined as the psychological pressure to engage in coerced sex [ 35 , 38 , 40 , 44 , 49 , 56 , 82 , 88 ] in the absence of physical force or explicit threat of force [ 89 , 90 ]. In the past, verbal coercion has been labeled “heterosexual coercion” [ 91 ], as well as “social coercion” and “interpersonal coercion” [ 44 , 92 ]. Additionally, researchers have stated that consensual sex that is unwanted or undesired as the result of compliance is separated from incidences of consensual sex that result from a partner’s coercive behavior [ 93 ].…”

“…The majority of sexual assault on college campuses, as well as off campus, rarely involves physical force or additional physical injury [ 26 , 48 , 62 , 82 ], and instead is more likely to involve drugs and/or alcohol [ 51 , 52 ], and/or verbal sexual coercion with a substantial number of studies implicating verbal sexual coercion as the most common sexual assault tactic [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ]. The use of alcohol in campus sexual assault has been extensively researched elsewhere [ 51 , 52 ] and is outside the purview of the current article.…”

Latent Profile Analysis of Alcohol Consumption and Sexual Attitudes Among College Women: Associations With Sexual Victimization Risk

“…Alcohol use also is thought to increase incidents of casual sex (Grello, Welsh, & Harper, 2006), encounters that are becoming increasingly common among college students and are thought to increase women’s risk of sexual assault (Littleton, Tabernik, Canales, & Backstrom, 2009). Related research also has found that women who experienced verbal sexual coercion reported more sexual partners, stronger sex-related alcohol expectancies (i.e., the belief alcohol will enhance sexual behavior), and more frequent alcohol use prior to engaging in sexual intercourse (Gilmore et al, 2014). Conceptual frameworks such as alcohol myopia theory (Steele & Josephs, 1990; Steele & Southwick, 1985) and the appraisal–disruption model of stress responding (Sayette, 1993) have been used to explain how alcohol might increase women’s victimization risk by impairing their ability to perceive and respond to social situations.…”