Consent Communication Research Articles

Sexual Victimization, Emotion Dysregulation, and Sexual Consent Feelings and Communication During a Recent Sexual Encounter

ABSTRACT Sexual consent has been a major focus of campus campaigns to reduce sexual violence (SV). However, these campaigns often educate students about consent with little attention to the complex ways consent can be experienced, expressed, and interpreted by others. Further, little research has focused on the consent feelings and communication cues of students who have a history of SV, nor have studies examined how the ability to attend to and regulate emotions relates to internal feelings or external communication of consent. This secondary analysis examined SV histories, emotion dysregulation, and internal and external consent cues in a sample of 610 college students (72% women) who completed an online self-report survey. Findings revealed that students with SV histories (n = 257) reported greater emotion dysregulation, lower internal consent, and greater use of passive external consent cues compared to students without SV histories; greater emotion dysregulation was associated with lower internal consent. In a path model, SV history was indirectly related to use of direct nonverbal and passive consent cues through greater emotion dysregulation and lower internal consent. Contrary to expectations, higher internal consent was associated with greater use of passive external consent cues. Consent programming could be augmented to encourage attention to and regulation of emotions in sexual situations to improve communication and sexual well-being.

Sexism, risk perception, and beliefs about sexual consent

ABSTRACT People’s beliefs about sexual consent can have far-reaching consequences, from forming opinions about a sexual assault case while serving as a juror to attending to a partner’s verbal and nonverbal consent cues during a sexual encounter. In this study, we examined the extent to which sexism, attitudes towards sexual consent, and sexual consent norms predict perceptions of risk related to sexual consent communication, or more specifically, the absence of sexual consent communication. Undergraduate students (N = 217) participated in an online survey study. Results revealed that participants’ attitudes towards sexual consent mediated the relationship between sexism and perceived risk. That is, people with sexist beliefs were less likely to evaluate sexual consent behaviours in a positive way, and in turn, these negative evaluations of sexual consent were associated with lower risk perceptions.

Exploring the Future of Informed Consent: Applying a Service Design Approach

Informed consent is a cornerstone of ethical human subject research. This practice demonstrates the ethical principle of "respect for persons." Our study was designed to imagine an informed consent future, specifically in a digital health context in which informed consent processes are mediated by sociotechnical systems. Design speed-dating workshops were conducted to explore dimensions of the consent communication design space, including social media, interactive quizzes, chat-bots, annotation tools, and virtual learning sessions. To explore both the user experience and how futuristic consent processes might be facilitated, the workshops involved people eligible to participate in digital health research (N=21) and service providers (N=20), including researchers and IRB members. Our findings offer five principles to improve digital informed consent processes: be concise, promote transparency, value time and effort, cultivate trust, and navigate platform risks.

A Within-Person Examination of Alcohol-Involved and Non-Alcohol-Involved Internal and External Sexual Consent Communication.

External consent communication and internal consent feelings may be influenced by alcohol consumption. However, whether the way someone communicates sexual consent differs when alcohol is or is not involved is not well understood. The goal of this study was to assess the within- and between-person effects of alcohol use, gender, and sexual identity on internal and external consent. Young adults (n = 375) completed a 10-minute web-administered survey about their internal and external consent in a recent alcohol- and non-alcohol-involved sexual encounter. External consent included five different behaviors to communicate consent. We conducted a repeated-measures analysis of variance to assess the within- and between-person effects of alcohol use, gender, and sexual identity on internal and external consent. Internal consent did not differ across sexual experiences or identities. In alcohol-involved encounters, there was a decreased use of implicit communication. Heterosexual women used more verbal communication during alcohol encounters than during sober encounters. Compared with men, women used more nonverbal and implicit communication across encounters. Alcohol use did not influence internal consent and was associated with a reduced use of implicit communication. The disinhibiting effects of alcohol may lead people to feel more confident and open about expressing their sexual desires. Affirmative consent initiatives can use findings to encourage more clear communication and continue to educate on gender differences in sexual consent.

Exploring the Influence of Romantic Relationship Communication on Adolescents’ Self-Efficacy to Ask for Sexual Consent

ABSTRACT Adolescence represents a crucial period for sexual and romantic relationship development, and acquisition of skills and confidence essential for effective sexual consent communication. However, various barriers may interfere with adolescents’ belief in their ability (i.e., their self-efficacy) to negotiate consent in practice. This study aimed to investigate the state of adolescents’ self-efficacy to ask for consent and explore the influence of romantic relationship communication (a construct comprised of three characteristics: relationship assertiveness skills, positive conflict resolution, and communication awkwardness). Participants were 411 adolescents who had current or past relationships (61% girls, 77% Latine, 79% heterosexual). Participants generally reported above-average levels of self-efficacy to ask for consent (M = 4.14 out of 7, SD = 1.24), with LGBQ+ adolescents exhibiting statistically significantly higher levels of self-efficacy compared to heterosexual adolescents (M = 4.51 vs. 4.09, t = -2.66, p = .008). Self-efficacy to ask for consent was positively individually related to positive conflict resolution and relationship assertiveness skills, and negatively related to communication awkwardness (all ps < .001). In a path model, romantic relationship communication displayed a statistically significant association with adolescents’ self-efficacy to ask for consent, with high positive conflict resolution, low communication awkwardness, and high relationship assertiveness skills being associated with higher self-efficacy to ask for consent. Findings suggest improving adolescents’ romantic communication skills may enhance their self-efficacy to ask for consent, and contribute to increased rates of sexual consent communication. Intervention strategies should target multiple levels of influence to promote positive consent cognitions, behaviors, and cultural norms.

Meanings and dilemmas of consent communication for sexual minorities

ABSTRACT Research on consent communication focused on the experiences and perspectives of heterosexual individuals, leaving sexual minority individuals potentially vulnerable in their communication with partners. The current study relied on normative rhetorical theory and semi-structured interviews with individuals who self-identified as lesbian, gay, and bisexual. To participants, consent communication meant engaging in a clear, verbal discussion; showing enthusiasm; coming to an agreement; and, consulting with oneself and one's partner throughout a sexual encounter. Participants also shared consent communication dilemmas that were related to the difficulties of defining “sex” in same-sex sexual encounters, heteronormative consent standards, discomfort voicing one's sexual needs, partners who were resistant to sexual communication, and past sexual assault. The discussion reviews key findings, offers possible explanations with directions for future research.

‘Doing things you don't wanna do’: young people's understandings of power inequalities and the implications for sexual consent

ABSTRACT Legal definitions of sexual consent emphasise ‘freedom’ as central to valid consent; however, power inequalities may complicate freedom. This paper discusses findings from a two-stage focus group study with young people (aged 13–23) in England exploring the implications of power inequalities for sexual consent. In Stage 1, 77 participants explored and ranked the types of power inequalities they felt were common within young people's sexual relationships, with age, gender and popularity being identified as the most common power inequalities. In Stage 2, 43 participants discussed power inequalities using scenarios based on the Stage 1 findings and considered their implications for sexual consent. Thematic analysis of the data produced two themes: powerless and powerful roles in consent communication and power inequalities implicitly constrain freedom to consent. Consent communication was constructed as a unidirectional process whereby those with more power initiate, and those with less, gatekeep. Such roles require deconstruction to position consent as mutual and actively negotiated by partners. Further, since power inequalities were seen to place implicit constraints on freedom to consent, we advocate for an explicit exploration of power and privilege within Relationships and Sex Education to equip young people to recognise, challenge and negotiate these constraints.

Sexual Incentive Motivation and Sexual Behavior: The Role of Consent.

The generalized social concern with sexual harassment and nonconsensual sex makes it imperative to incorporate notions of consent in any analysis of human sexual interactions. Such interactions follow an ordered sequence of events, starting with the perception of a sexual incentive, followed by an approach to it, genital interaction, and eventually orgasm. Consent from the partner is needed at every stage. At some points in this chain of events, the individuals involved make cognitive evaluations of the context and predictions of the likelihood for obtaining consent for proceeding to the next phase. Processes such as communication of consent or lack thereof, sexual decision making, and interpretation of cues emitted by the partner are decisive. Increased sexual motivation may influence these processes. However, available data make it possible to ascertain that enhanced motivation has no, or at most minor, effects, thereby invalidating the old assumption that heightened sexual motivation leads to impaired control.

Hey ChatGPT, Let’s Talk About Sexual Consent

ABSTRACT Access to sexual health education, such as education on sexual consent, is limited in the US. Artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT, provides a potential opportunity to increase access to sexual consent information and education. However, what ChatGPT knows about sexual consent and if this aligns with the current evidence-based literature on sexual consent is unclear. The goal of this research commentary was to explore what ChatGPT knows about sexual consent with a focus on: 1) the definition of consent, 2) how consent could be communicated, and 3) the impact that substances have on consent. We also examined the reliability of ChatGPT’s responses by having three different researchers ask ChatGPT the same set of questions. Across our questions, ChatGPT provided similar and comprehensive responses that discussed key features of consent – that consent is freely given or reversible. ChatGPT provided examples of different verbal and nonverbal cues people can use to communicate and interpret consent and discussed the ways that substances can impact consent communication. Overall, ChatGPT could be a potential resource for educators and young people who seek information about sexual consent; however, we should proceed with caution. ChatGPT is not a replacement for an educator but rather a way to increase access to education.

“I Can Tell You Wanna F***”: A Content Analysis of Sexual Communication in Popular Song Lyrics

ABSTRACT Given that exposure to sexual messages in song lyrics can influence sociocultural norms and expectations surrounding consent communication between partners, we sought to understand the types of messages regarding sexual initiation and consent language that are available to media consumers. Through the lens of sexual script theory, we conducted a quantitative content analysis of sexual consent in pop (n = 197), hip-hop (n = 193), and country songs (n = 194) from 2016 to 2019. Differences in these messages were examined across singer gender, music genre, and time (pre- vs. post-#MeToo). Results indicated that references to sexual demands (e.g., “Strip that down”) and sexual preferences (e.g., “I want it slow”) were the most common types of sexual communication, appearing in approximately one-third of the singing parts included in the sample. Sexual suggestions (e.g., “Let’s get nasty”) and sexual requests (e.g., “Can I hit it?”), on the other hand, were the least common. References to inferred consent (e.g., “I can tell you wanna f***”) appeared in approximately one-fifth of the singing parts. Both sexual demands and sexual preferences were more likely to appear in pop compared to hip-hop and country songs; however, these sexual communication messages did not significantly differ by male and female singers. Sexual requests were significantly more likely to appear in pre-#MeToo song lyrics. The messages embedded in popular songs may help to reinforce problematic scripts around sexual consent.

Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to Longitudinally Predict College Students’ Communication of Affirmative Sexual Consent

This study longitudinally explored antecedents to college students’ affirmative sexual consent behaviors. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), hypotheses predicted that time one (T1) attitudes, norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) would predict students’ T1 intentions to communicate affirmative consent to their partner. Also, this study predicted that at time two, intentions to communicate consent from T1 would predict college students’ communication of affirmative consent to their partner during their most recent sexual encounter. Results support hypotheses for all affirmative consent behaviors, and demonstrate that subjective norms and PBC are strong determinants of students’ affirmative sexual consent.

Do you read me?

This paper argues that there are three separable but related dimensions that are important to the legal notion of consent. One is a consenting state of mind, the ‘going along with’ a plan of action, which may or may not be communicated or even reflected upon, but which certainly can be. A second is displaying behaviour which reveals or is an expression of consenting. Another is intentionally communicating consent. I illustrate how the communicative act is often vitally important as evidence of an underlying consenting state, but the underlying consenting state has to be postulated and brought to the fore since consensual actions (e.g. sexual intercourse) can, and more often than not do, take place without the communicative acts, and the communicative acts might for various reasons be made in the absence of the genuinely consenting state of mind. The arguments I put forward offer a reframing of cases in which an apparent intentional communication of consent was treated as consent, rather than as a piece of evidence which may or may not be indicative of a consenting state of mind. This paper emphasises that we must not allow the importance of something as evidential to eclipse the underlying phenomenon, which is itself, however hard to access otherwise, the thing of primary legal importance.

"I Wouldn't Believe Her at First"-A Qualitative Study of Young People's Sexual Consent Perceptions and Negotiation in Nairobi Informal Settlements.

Forced or coerced sexual experiences have serious consequences for young people's health and well-being. Healthy sexual consent communication can foster positive intimate relationships and help prevent unwanted sexual experiences. We aimed to explore how young people in Nairobi's informal settlements construct, communicate, and negotiate sexual consent within heterosexual partnerships, given the limited insight into such experiences from resource-poor, global-south contexts. A qualitative study with young men and women aged 15 to 21 years was conducted among former participants of a school-based sexual violence prevention intervention in four informal settlements (slums) of Nairobi. Twenty-one individual in-depth interviews (n = 10 females, n = 11 males) and 10 focus group discussions (five with n = 6-11 males vs. females, respectively), that is, n = 89 in total were conducted. Data were analysed using thematic network analysis and interpreted using the Sexual script theory. Participants' endorsement of incongruent sexual scripts shaped their perceptions and negotiations of sexual consent. Young men were committed to respecting sexual consent, but promoted male (sexual) dominance, and perceived women's refusals as token resistance. Per traditional scripts of sexual chastity, young women were largely bound by their use of a "soft no" to give consent, so as to not display direct sexual interest. Actual non-assertive refusals thus risked being interpreted as consent. Young women's "actual" refusals had to be more assertive (saying a "hard no") and were described as having been influenced by skills learned during the school-based intervention. Findings highlight the need for sexual consent education to address internalized gendered norms about female token resistance, destigmatize female sexuality, reduce male dominance norms, and encourage young people's respect for both assertive and non-assertive sexual consent communication.

(026) Perceptions of Sexual Consent for Diverse Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities

Abstract Introduction The literature has not examined the perceived differences of sexual consent across people of diverse social groups in great depth. Objectives This study explored how sexual consent communication is perceived for people across various gender identities and sexual orientations. Methods College students were recruited to participate in a survey by which they were asked to respond to a cisgender, heterosexual version or a sexual minority version of vignettes based on ambiguous sexual consent themes. Participants were asked to identify the degree to which they believed the sexual encounters in the vignettes were consensual, the degree by which the aggressors consented to the sexual encounters, and the degree by which the victims consented to the sexual encounters. Results The study findings indicate that five of the sixteen vignette themes showed statistically significant differences in participant perception. Participants perceived the retraction of sexual consent theme differently between the cisgender, heterosexual and sexual minority vignette version, in that the sexual minority characters (gay) were perceived to have consented at a higher degree than the cisgender, heterosexual characters. In looking at the characters in the aggressor role in the vignettes, the cisgender, heterosexual characters were perceived to have consented to the sexual scenarios at a higher degree than characters of sexual minority groups in the emotional dysregulation (male to female transgender), retraction of sexual consent (gay), bribe or blackmail (lesbian), and rape fantasy (queer) themes. In looking at the characters in the victim role in the vignettes, the character of a sexual minority group (questioning sexual orientation) in the fully consensual theme was perceived to have consented at a higher degree than the cisgender, heterosexual character. Conclusions College students’ expectations of sexual consent communication may differ depending on the sexual orientation and gender identities of the individuals involved. Self-identification with a particular social group may indicate a higher expectancy for that group to communicate sexual consent with less ambiguity. Disclosure No.

O.P.5 - Effective Informed Consent Communication skills for Senior Medical Students (Sub-Interns): Presenter(s): Milena A. Gebska, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA, United States

O.P.5 - Effective Informed Consent Communication skills for Senior Medical Students (Sub-Interns): Presenter(s): Milena A. Gebska, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA, United States

How College Students Interpret and Use Social Media as a Potential Source of Sexual Consent Communication

This study investigated how social media use, specifically exposure to and posting of sexualized and party-related content on social media and interpretations of that content as sexual consent communication, related to college students’ intentions to engage in sexual consent communication. A national sample of U.S. college students ( N = 954) completed the relevant measures in an online survey. Results indicated that the more college students reported exposure to sexualized and party-related content on social media, the more likely they were to report posting similar content and believe in harmful consent myths (i.e., that a person’s sexual consent can be assumed by looking at their social media profiles). Posting sexualized and party-related content on social media was also related to lesser intentions to engage in consent communication. These findings provide evidence for the importance of considering social media use in how college students understand sexual consent communication that may be used to inform future sexual consent education on college campuses.

Consent Communication (Portrayals of Sexuality in Pornography)

Consent Communication (Portrayals of Sexuality in Pornography)

Conceptual Overview (Portrayals of Sexuality in Pornography)

Conceptual Overview (Portrayals of Sexuality in Pornography)

Performer Demographics (Portrayals of Sexuality in Pornography)

Performer Demographics (Portrayals of Sexuality in Pornography)

Examining substance-involved sexual experiences and consent communication by sexual identity

ABSTRACT Substance use can occur prior to nonconsensual and consensual sexual activity and affect how sexual consent is communicated and felt. Yet, researchers’ understanding of how substance use relates to these sexual experiences is still developing. Few researchers examine these behaviors among the intersection of sexual minority (SM) identity and gender. The goal of this study was to assess if experiences of nonconsensual and consensual substance-involved sexual activity, consent communication and feelings varied by the intersection of SM identity and identifying as a woman. Participants were recruited from a Prolific Academic panel to complete a survey about their substance use, sexual experiences, and sexual consent. SM persons and SM women reported more nonconsensual and consensual substance involved sexual experiences than heterosexual participants and SM men. Consent communication and feelings did not differ by across groups. Prevention initiatives for substance use and sexual activity may want to take an intersectional approach that addresses why different subgroups are at elevated risk to coalesce these two behaviors. Because consent feelings and communication did not differ by SM identity and gender, consent initiatives should expand their discussion to be inclusive of SM as these initiatives are often presented within a heteronormative framework.