College Women's Perceptions Research Articles

College Women's Perceptions of a Friend-Based Intervention to Prevent Alcohol-Involved Sexual Assault.

Sexual assault (SA), particularly alcohol-involved SA, remains prevalent among college women. Because SA often begins in social contexts, bystander intervention has become a popular approach to prevention. Bystander interventions train individuals to intervene on behalf of others, including strangers, despite research indicating that intervention is more likely to occur when the bystander has a relationship with the target. Shifting the focus to friends as potential bystanders capitalizes on the qualities of relationship and responsibility that facilitate intervention. College women (N = 35) participated in focus groups (N = 8) during which they viewed a video prototype of a friend-based motivational interviewing (FMI) intervention session conducted with a friend dyad and provided feedback about the relevance and feasibility of using such an approach to reduce SA among friends who drink together in social settings. Content analysis of focus group transcripts yielded three themes: a) Friends as Natural Bystanders; b) The Role of Alcohol in Intervention, and c) Receptivity to FMI intervention. Women indicated that they feel responsible for keeping their friends safe, and that this sense of responsibility facilitates helping behaviors. Women also described ways through which alcohol intoxication can affect helping behavior. Women expressed enthusiasm for the FMI intervention approach and identified its emphasis on friendship and flexible approaches to personal safety as strengths. Findings highlight the promise of FMI intervention approaches that capitalize on the strengths of women's friendship to create safety goals that align with participants' values and overcome barriers to intervention, including alcohol intoxication.

Reality Check! Perceptions of MTV's Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant/Teen Mom and Dating Violence Attitudes and Experiences.

We examined college women's (N = 354) perceptions of Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant/Teen Mom and how these perceptions are related to dating violence (DV) attitudes and behaviors. Although most DV attitudes and behaviors did not relate to frequency of viewing these shows, DV victimization was related to more frequent viewing of Jersey Shore. Moreover, DV perpetration and victimization was related to perceptions that the Jersey Shore was a fun show to watch, and accepting attitudes toward DV was inversely related to perceptions that Jersey Shore was offensive. Content analysis of open-ended responses regarding young women's opinions about the shows' portrayal of DV showed that most participants believed that Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant/Teen Mom depicted DV, although there was variability in how accurate these portrayals were perceived to be. Similarly, young women had varying opinions about how acceptable it was to portray DV on television as well as the extent to which MTV was doing enough to ensure that the individuals on the show received help for their experiences. Findings suggest the importance of helping viewers understand how the media influences their own beliefs and behaviors in dating and sexual relationships.

Reflections on attitudes, experiences, and vulnerability of intimate partner violence among Southeast Asian college women living in United States.

To provide culturally sensitive intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention programs for ethnic groups, a basic foundational understanding of Southeast Asian (SEA) women living in the United States is vital. The purpose of this study was to describe SEA college women's perceptions of IPV and how the women recognize their vulnerability to such violent situations. Qualitative methods using focus group discussions were employed to elicit participants' perceptions. Participants included 18 SEA college women, ages 18-34 (Mean=22; SD=7.22). Transcriptions were analyzed using a content analysis approach. Five themes emerged: recognition of IPV; perception of individual vulnerability to IPV; experience and responses to IPV; help seeking and support system; and strategies used for prevention of IPV. Findings yielded an understanding of intertwined issues of cultural norms associated with IPV, social and economic disparities, and challenges for IPV prevention in SEA communities. Culturally sensitive prevention programs will be more effective by reforming cultural values, while at the same time promoting non-violent relationships and increasing access to services.

First-Year College Women's Motivations for Hooking up: A Mixed-Methods Examination of Normative Peer Perceptions and Personal Hookup Participation

ABSTRACT. This study used content analysis techniques to explore 221 first-year college women's perceptions of female peers’ reasons (i.e., normative perceptions) for hooking up. Data on personal participation in hooking up were also collected. The well-established Drinking Motives Questionnaire (Cooper, 1994) was used as a framework for coding positive (enhancement or social) and negative (coping or conformity) normative hookup motivations. Participants most commonly indicated that enhancement reasons motivated peers’ hookup behaviors (69.7%). Coping (23.5%), external (21.7%), social (19.5%), and conformity (16.3%) motives were cited less frequently. Furthermore, women who had hooked up since matriculating into college (61.5%, n = 136) were significantly more likely to state that their female peers hook up for enhancement reasons (a positive motive), but they were significantly less likely to perceive that typical female peers hook up for coping or conformity reasons (negative motives) (ps < .001). Findings indicate not only that college women uphold overwhelmingly positive perceptions for peers’ hooking up, but there appears to be a strong relationship between college women's own hooking up participation and the positive versus negative attributions they ascribe to hooking up among their peers. This study extends the understanding of college women's perceptions and potential influences of hooking up and provides implications for harm reduction efforts.

Does this book make me look fat? The effect of protagonist body weight and body esteem on female readers’ body esteem

Effects of visual representations of the thin ideal in the media have been widely explored, but textual representations of the thin ideal in novels have received scant attention. The chick literature genre has been criticized for depicting characters who worry about their body weight and who have poor body esteem. Excerpts from two chick lit novels were used to examine the effect of a protagonist's body weight and body esteem on college women's (N=159) perceptions of their sexual attractiveness and weight concern. Two narratives were used to minimize the possibility that idiosyncratic characteristics of one excerpt might influence the study's results. Underweight (vs. healthy weight) protagonists predicted readers’ lower perceived sexual attractiveness. Protagonists with low body esteem (vs. control) predicted readers’ increased weight concern. Scholars and health officials should be concerned about the effect chick lit novels might have on women's body image.

Safety concerns, fear and precautionary behavior among college women: An exploratory examination of two measures of residency

This study examines the impact of two distinct measures of residency on college women's perceptions of safety, fear of crime and precautionary behaviors within both on-campus and off-campus areas. A student's current residency either on- or off-campus and a student's prior residency in a metropolitan, micropolitan or rural county prior to college are compared across these three aspects of campus safety. Current residency is found to be significantly related to a student's perceptions of safety in off-campus areas around campus, as well as the likelihood of engaging in precautionary behaviors such as avoiding specific locations on campus or carrying or keeping something (for example, weapons) for protection. Prior residency, on the other hand, was not found to impact perceptions of safety, fear of crime or precautionary behaviors.

When Does it Cross the Line?: College Women's Perceptions of the Threshold Between Normal Eating and Eating Disorders

When Does it Cross the Line?College Women's Perceptions of the Threshold Between Normal Eating and Eating Disorders Megan R. Yost (bio) and Laura A. Smith (bio) Clinicians rigorously study diseases and disorders so that they can formulate the best set of criteria for diagnosis. However, it is often the case, particularly on a college campus, that a friend would notice changes in physical or mental wellness long before a doctor or psychologist would. Because of this, research on the accuracy of lay diagnosis is needed. Although multiple studies have assessed the accuracy of lay diagnosis for disorders such as depression (e.g., Johnson, Mayanja, Bangirana, & Kizito, 2009), very little research has been conducted on lay diagnosis of eating disorders. With the high prevalence of eating disorders among women at college, this lack of research attention is particularly problematic. Psychologists conceive of eating disorders as falling on a continuum that places unrestricted eating behaviors and exercise at one extreme and eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, at the other. Therefore, clinical diagnoses are a matter of degree rather than of type (Tylka & Subich, 1998). The point at which one crosses the line from dieting to an eating disorder becomes extremely important to identify, because this boundary likely determines the point at which someone would seek help, or would recommend that a friend seek help. Although clinicians have the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) available to guide them through diagnosis, the general public is often not well-versed in diagnostic criteria and relies on their own conceptions of, and experiences with, disorders to assess behaviors of family and friends. If their perceptions are not accurate, people with disorders may not receive the help and support they need to seek treatment. The purpose of the present study was to introduce a new measure designed to determine how accurate college women are in their judgments about the point at which a target woman has an eating disorder, based on symptoms of being underweight, exercising excessively, limiting caloric intake, and self-induced vomiting. The present research is important because problematic behavior that is diagnosed too late might result in women delaying treatment until symptoms have progressed. With eating disorders, as with many psychological disorders, early intervention provides the best conditions for recovery, so encouraging early detection and referral is crucial. Method Participants One hundred twenty-two women (mean age = 19.6 years) from a pool of students enrolled in introductory psychology courses at a small, liberal arts college in Pennsylvania volunteered to participate. Students were able to choose from a variety of research studies or [End Page 163] complete an alternative reading assignment to receive research credit toward their classes. Of the sample, 42.6% were first-year students, 24.6% were sophomores, 9.8% were juniors, and 22.1% were seniors. The sample was predominantly White: 88.5% of participants were Caucasian, 4.1% were Hispanic, 2.5% were African American, and 1.6% were Asian American. Measure Identification of Diagnostic Threshold. A new measure was created for this study, designed to examine the level at which behavior is considered to be disordered. Based on the characterization of eating disorders as existing on a continuum with normal behaviors (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Tylka & Subich, 1998), we created four vignettes that began with a woman displaying acceptable behavior that becomes increasingly more representative of an eating disorder. The variables that were examined, in separate vignettes, were weight, exercise behavior, caloric intake, and purging habits. In each vignette, one variable was made increasingly severe. At each increasingly severe step, the participants were asked whether the woman has an eating disorder. The point at which an individual participant switched from responding "No" to responding "Yes" was the indicator of the threshold. For example, the weight vignette began by stating, "Susan is a 19 year-old college student. She is 5'5. and weighs 140 pounds. She takes 4 classes and has an on-campus job. She exercises occasionally." The first item asked, "Given only this information, would you say that Susan has an eating disorder?" Subsequent items gradually reduced Susan's weight; item...

Modeling college women's perceptions of elite leadership positions with Social Cognitive Career Theory

The utility of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) for predicting college women's interests and goals for positions of elite leadership was examined with 156 undergraduate women at a public university. They completed measures of elite leadership self-efficacy expectations, outcome expectations, interests, and goals. Results supported SCCT as a theoretical framework for understanding internal factors that may contribute to women's elite leadership interests and goals. Self-efficacy and outcome expectations for elite leadership positions related positively to interests and goals for such positions, and self-efficacy and outcome expectations each contributed unique variance to the prediction of elite leadership interests. Outcome expectations partially mediated the relation between elite leadership self-efficacy and interests, interests partially mediated the relation between elite leadership outcome expectations and goals, and the combination of elite leadership interests and outcome expectations completely mediated the relation between self-efficacy for elite leadership positions and elite leadership goals.

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

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.

“It's about time”: College women's perceptions of gynecologic health

To examine college women's perceptions of gynecologic health, with a particular emphasis on healthcare decision making. Women's perceptions of health promotion efforts that would influence gynecologic health were also examined. Verbatim transcripts of individual and focus group interviews from 34 college women, 18-25 years of age, were thematically analyzed. Questions related to women's decisions to seek gynecologic health care and their healthcare experiences with providers. Three themes were identified: (dis)connecting with their changing bodies, experiencing the healthcare encounter, and making healthcare decisions. Results suggest that college can be "the time" when college women begin to think about and act on decisions about gynecologic health. Implications for practice By acknowledging college women's multidimensional definitions of health and knowledge of healthy behaviors, advanced practice nurses can assist women in developing strategies for enacting these definitions and integrating desired healthy behaviors into their busy college lives.

Black and White College Women's Perceptions of Sexual Harassment

In this study, we examined how racial factorsinfluence college women's perceptions of sexualharassment. Specifically, we examined whether Black (N= 46) and White (N = 89) women perceive unsolicitedsexual behavior between a Black woman and Black mandifferentfrom such behavior between a Black woman and aWhite man. The data suggest that sexual harassmentbetween Black women and men are trivialized compared to sexual behavior between Black women andWhite men. The findings are interpreted with regard tothe necessity of studying sexual harassment for women ofcolor.

College Women's Perceptions Regarding Resistance to Sexual Assault

College women's perceptions about resistance to sexual assault were examined. Twenty-one percent of the 334 women surveyed stated that they had been sexually assaulted. The vast majority of participants had changed their lifestyles to prevent a sexual assault. Less than 1 woman in 5 of those surveyed had taken a self-defense class. Participants believed that resisting sexual assault by a stranger with a weapon was more likely than resisting an unarmed attacker to increase their chances of being physically harmed, raped, or murdered. Twenty-two percent of the participants said they were “very likely” to resist sexual assault by a stranger with a weapon; 52% would resist a stranger without a weapon. The findings indicate the need for an increase in the number of women taking self-defense classes and a revision in women's perceptions about resisting sexual assault.

Self-esteem and the relation between risk behavior and perceptions of vulnerability to unplanned pregnancy in college women.

This article reports 2 studies testing the hypothesis that individuals with high self-esteem are more likely than those with low self-esteem to interpret information about their personal vulnerability to health risks in a self-serving manner. Study 1 used an experimental paradigm to demonstrate that self-esteem moderates the influence of review of sexual and contraceptive behavior on college women's perceptions of vulnerability to unplanned pregnancy (N = 125). Study 2 used a longitudinal design to demonstrate that self-esteem also moderates the relation between naturally occurring changes in college women's sexual behavior and changes in their risk perception (N = 273). Together, these studies provide evidence that people with high self-esteem use self-serving cognitive strategies to maintain their risk perceptions.

Black and White College Women's Perceptions of Early Maternal Employment

Black ( n = 89) and White ( n = 121) female students rated their perceptions of the mother of a one-year-old infant as a function of the mother's race (Black/White) and employment role (employment/nonemployment after the birth of her child). Results showed that White, compared to Black, students anticipated comparatively more role-related costs for the employed than the nonemployed mothers. Furthermore, Blacks, but not Whites, expected more role-related emotional rewards for the employed than the nonemployed mothers. The data are linked to previous findings concerning Whites' and Blacks' attitudes toward role integration.

Unwanted Intercourse: The Difficulty of Saying No

Unwanted intercourse occurs when a reluctant partner is induced to acquiesce against her (his) will by psychological pressure from the would-be lover, but without the use of or the threat of force. An earlier study found that 30% of a representative probability sample of senior women in a liberal arts college had experienced unwanted intercourse. College women's ( N = 76) perceptions of the unwanted intercourse situation were assessed by projective and by questionnaire methods, using a videotaped stimulus cue. Results indicate that highly negative feelings are attributed to the man in the refuse situation, and to the majority of the women in both the accept and refuse situations. A hedonic calculus analysis based on the ratio of negative to positive feelings in the stories demonstrates the cost-benefit superiority of accepting unwanted intercourse in spite of the fact that the women's feelings are predominantly negative. A theory of unwanted intercourse is proposed that attributes the high rate of unwanted intercourse to four societal norms: (a) current remnants of the ideology of male supremacy, (b) the norm of male initiative, (c) the lack of positive sexual experience norms for women, and (d) the “stroking norm” for women.

Perceived Traditionality and Nontraditionality of Career Aspirations of Black College Women

132 black college women's perceptions of the traditionality and nontraditionality of their career choices were examined as a function of fear of success, delay of gratification, and risk-taking. Analysis indicated that women low in fear of success perceived their career choices to be more non-traditional than women high in fear of success. A three-way interaction of fear of success, delay of gratification, and risk-taking was noted. That is, women who were high risk-takers, high in preference for delayed gratification, and low in fear of success perceived their career aspirations to be more nontraditional than women who were low risk-takers, low in preference for delayed gratification and high in fear of success. The significance of these findings and implications for women's career aspirations and job performance are discussed.