Faulty perceptions? The impact of binge drinking history on college women's perceived rape resistance efficacy

Abstract

College women who binge drink are at greater risk than their peers for experiencing an alcohol-involved rape. Evidence suggests that these women commonly underestimate their risk for assault. This study examines college women's perceptions of their rape resistance efficacy in two acquaintance rape scenarios (one involving the woman's alcohol consumption and one not) as a function of their binge drinking and alcohol-involved rape history. Alcohol-involved rape was inversely associated only with efficacy in situations involving alcohol. Binge drinking was differentially predictive of efficacy in the two scenarios, with regular binge drinkers being significantly more likely to have high perceived efficacy in rape scenarios in which they were drinking and significantly less likely than their peers to have high perceived efficacy in rape scenarios in which they weren't drinking. Findings have direct implications for both college drinking and rape risk reduction interventions, highlighting the need to address women's minimization of alcohol's impact on their rape resistance ability.