Sex Attitudes and Prior Victimization as Predictors of College Student Sex Offenses

Abstract

A sample of 796 college student volunteers in Human Sexuality and Introductory Psychology classes were surveyed anonymously about sexual attitudes, experience, and knowledge. The survey measured attitude variables found previously to predict attitudes toward forcible date rape (Fischer, 1986) and behavioral measures, such as sexual experience and sexual abuse as a child, teenager, or adult. Survey variables wre related to two types of self-reported sexual offenders: (a) those who admitted to use of lies or false promises to have sex (N=69) and/or (b) those who admitted to use of threat or force to have sex (N=16). Logistic regression and discriminant analyses revealed that male gender, a tendency to blame society, rather than the male, in a date rape vignette, more accepting attitudes toward forcible date rape, having used threat or force to have sex and greater sexual experience, including same gender sexual experience, identified 71% of students admitting to having lied or made false promises to have sex. Only two variables (blaming society or the situation, rather than the male, in a date rape vignette and some likelihood of rape, if sure of not being caught) identified 73% of forcible male sex offenders. Prior victimization did not relate to either type of sex offending. Thus, Groth's (1979) explanation of forcible sexual assault as an expression of internal developmental crisis (resulting from prior sexual abuse) was not supported.