Likelihood Of Rape Research Articles

Biochemical aspect of crime: a case study of testosterone levels among rapists in Enugu State

Testosterone concentration is a contributing factor to rape tendency. Our research aimed to determine the plasma testosterone concentrations in male rapists. Subjects (100) recruited from Enugu state prison grouped viz: Violent-rapist (VR), nonviolent-rapist (NVR), violent child-molester (VCM), nonviolent child-molester (NCM), and none rapist (NR). The blood sample was collected in the morning (8-9) for four months by veno-puncture and used in the determination. The testosterone levels determination was by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. The results indicated the mean age of 33 (VR), 34 (NVR), 46 (VCM), 47 (NCM), and 32 (NR). The age at first intercourse was highest in NCM (18) and lowest in VR (13). Heterosexuals were highest in VR (14) and lowest in NCM (6). Homosexuals were highest in NCM (4) and non in VM, NVR, and NR (0). In bisexuals, NVR and NCM were the highest (4), the NR (1) was the lowest. The concentrations of testosterone (in ng/100ml) were 8.65 (VR), 9.23 (NVR), 9.63 (VCM), 7.73 (NCM) and 7.95 (NR). The testosterone concentration of the VR, NVR, and VCM is higher than NR. The NCM was lower than the NR. This result suggests that VR, NVR, and VCM are associated with higher testosterone concentrations in males. The modest associations indicate that there might be other influencing factors. The relationship between testosterone levels in rapists and child molestation is, at best, tentative. In some people, hormonal factors might influence the likelihood of rape and child molestation.

Do community females display a propensity towards sexual aggression? An empirical assessment of prevalence and psychological predictors

ABSTRACT Objective: Despite growing interest in female sexual offending, academic understanding of community females who display a propensity towards sexual aggression (PSA) is lacking. Method: Across three vignette studies, we recruited three independent samples of community females (Noverall = 555) to assess the prevalence of female PSA towards males. We also examined whether established risk factors associated with male PSA are valid predictors of female PSA. These included ambivalent sexist attitudes, inappropriate sexual interests, non-sexual aggression, impulsivity, male rape myth acceptance, and sexual preoccupation. Results: Across studies, findings showed that between 26.9% and 44.0% of participants did not emphatically reject an interest in adult male-directed PSA. Key predictors of participants’ non-zero endorsement included an interest in violent sexual activities, rape myth acceptance, and sexual preoccupation. Conclusions: Though lower than their male counterparts (see Bohner, G., Reinhard, M. A., Rutz, S., Sturm, S., Kerschbaum, B., & Effler, D. (1998). Rape myths as neutralizing cognitions: Evidence for a causal impact of anti-victim attitudes on men’s self-reported likelihood of raping. European Journal of Social Psychology, 28(2), 257–268), some community females self-report an interest in perpetrating male-directed sexual aggression. We discuss the implications of our findings on harm prevention efforts with females, alongside avenues for future research.

If It Wasn't Rape, Was It Sexual Assault? Comparing Rape and Sexual Assault Acknowledgment in College Women Who Have Experienced Rape.

The present study investigated (a) comparisons in rates of rape and sexual assault acknowledgment and (b) a comprehensive multivariate multinomial logistic model predicting rape and sexual assault acknowledgment in a sample of 174 college women who had experienced rape. Significantly more women acknowledged having experienced sexual assault than rape. Greater perceived perpetrator force was associated with increased likelihood of rape and sexual assault acknowledgment. Increased age and greater perceived emotional impact were associated with increased odds of rape acknowledgment. Implications for policy, education, and practice within university settings are discussed.

The role of stranger harassment experiences in college women's perceived possibility of gender crimes happening to them

AbstractThe present study examined the relation between stranger harassment experiences and college women's perceived possibility of gender and nongender crimes happening to them. Undergraduate women attending a British university completed self‐report measures of stranger harassment and self‐objectification (i.e., self‐surveillance and body shame), and then evaluated four vignettes of various crimes on the severity of the crime and the likelihood of the crime happening to them. Results indicated that stranger harassment is a common experience for these British university women. Serial mediation analyses revealed a direct effect of stranger harassment on perceived likelihood of rape and perceived likelihood of intimate partner violence, and an indirect effect of stranger harassment on rape through self‐surveillance, whereas stranger harassment and indices of self‐objectification were unrelated to perceived likelihood of human trafficking and burglary. Discussion is centered on the role of objectifying experiences in perceptions of gender crimes where sexual and physical harm to women's bodies is emphasized, and the potential impact for those women on the receiving end of unwanted sexual objectification.

Effects of The Men’s Program on U.S. Army Soldiers’ Intentions to Commit and Willingness to Intervene to Prevent Rape: A Pretest Posttest Study

Noncommissioned male officers in the U.S. Army stationed in Germany were trained to present a 1-hour rape prevention workshop--The Men's Program--to 237 enlisted male soldiers. A comparison group of 244 male soldiers received a briefing focused on reducing the individual's risk for experiencing sexual assault, discussion of myths and facts about sexual assault, and how to avoid being accused of sexual assault. Participants in The Men's Program experienced significant change in the predicted direction for bystander willingness to help, bystander efficacy, rape myth acceptance, likelihood of raping, and likelihood of committing sexual assault with low to medium effect sizes. Comparison group participants experienced no effect on these variables except for a significant decline in rape myth acceptance with a very low effect size. Between-group differences pointed to the efficacy of The Men's Program. Implications of these results for rape prevention programming in the military are discussed.

Women in the "Grey Zone"? Ambiguity, Complicity and Rape Culture

Women in the "Grey Zone"? Ambiguity, Complicity and Rape Culture

Substance Use and PTSD Symptoms Impact the Likelihood of Rape and Revictimization in College Women

The present study utilized a mixed retrospective and prospective design with an 8-month follow-up period to test a model of revictimization that included multiple childhood (i.e., child sexual, physical, and emotional abuse) and situational variables (i.e., substance use, sexual behavior) for predicting rape among 276 college women. It was of particular interest to determine whether traumatic responses (e.g., posttraumatic symptomatology or risky behavior) increased vulnerability for revictimization. During the 8-month follow-up period, 9% of participants were raped; 88% of assaults involved substance use by the victim. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology predicted rape, substance use, and sexual behavior. Substance use, but not sexual behavior, mediated the relation between PTSD symptomatology and rape during the follow-up period. Sexual behavior indirectly impacted risk for rape via substance use. Results suggest that college women with PTSD symptomatology may be at greater risk for rape if they use substances to reduce distress.

Social Norms and the Likelihood of Raping: Perceived Rape Myth Acceptance of Others Affects Men's Rape Proclivity

Research showing that rape myth acceptance (RMA) causally affects rape proclivity (RP) was extended by examining the impact of RMA-related norms on RP. Male students (total N = 264) received feedback about the alleged responses of other students to RMA items either before (Experiment 1) or after (Experiment 2) they reported their own RMA, and then their RP was assessed using acquaintance-rape scenarios. The level of RMA feedback was varied. Results showed that higher norms led to higher RP. In Experiment 1, this effect was mediated via self-reported RMA. Experiment 2 yielded main effects of both RMA feedback and self-reported RMA and an interaction effect showing that RMA feedback was particularly influential at higher levels of own RMA. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Effects of Two Versions of an Empathy-Based Rape Prevention Program on Fraternity Men's Survivor Empathy, Attitudes, and Behavioral Intent to Commit Rape or Sexual Assault

Fraternity men (N = 261) at a small to midsized public university saw one of two versions of a rape prevention program or were in a control group. Program participants reported significant increases in empathy toward rape survivors and significant declines in rape myth acceptance, likelihood of raping, and likelihood of committing sexual assault. Program participants' scores significantly differed from an untreated control group in several areas. Implications for describing a male-on-male rape to increase men's empathy toward female survivors and other related attitudes are discussed.

Rape is not less frequent during the ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle

Arguing that female adaptations reduce the likelihood of rape during fertile periods, Chavanne and Gallup () cite two unpublished studies as evidence that rape is less frequent during the ovulatory phase, a claim subsequently repeated by other authors. Neither of the two studies in question (Rogel ; Morgan ) supports this conclusion. Moreover, analysis of conception rates reveals that the probability of conception following rape does not differ from that following consensual coitus. There is thus no evidence that rape frequency varies across the menstrual cycle in a manner reflecting female rape avoidance mechanisms. The contrast between evidence of the latter and the absence of epidemiological support may reflect differences between contemporary and ancestral societies.

Association between child sexual abuse and sexual revictimization in adulthood among women sex partners of injection drug users.

Community-recruited women (n = 1490) were interviewed about their early and adult sexual victimization histories to determine whether there was an association between child sexual abuse and adult revictimization by sex partners and strangers/nonsex partners. Adolescent sexual abuse, lifetime sex-trading, drug treatment, and mental health treatment were examined as mediating variables. One-fourth of the women had been revictimized (i.e., experienced child sexual abuse and at least one instance of adult sexual victimization). Child sexual abuse was associated with both rape and other sexual victimization by a sex partner in adulthood, as well as adult rape by a stranger/nonsex partner. Drug and mental health treatments reduced abused women's chances of being raped by a sex partner; drug treatment also decreased the likelihood of other sexual victimization by a sex partner. Sex-trading increased abused women's likelihood of rape by a stranger or nonsex partner. Intervention--including drug treatment--can help women with child sexual abuse histories overcome some of the abuse-related sequelae that make them vulnerable to adult revictimization.

Rape Attitude and Behaviour and their Relationship to Moral Development

Research suggests that up to 50% of men report some likelihood of raping if they know they can get away with it. In order to investigate what self-reported likelihood data might mean, relationships between rape attitude, moral development, and self-reported likelihood of raping were compared between samples of convicted rapists, armed robbers and non-criminal controls. Individual responses on self-reported likelihood of raping an acquaintance and self-reported likelihood of raping a stranger correlated significantly, though moderately, with expressions of pro-rape attitude. The correlations between indices of attitude to rape and moral development, varied between groups, with the highest correlations found in the rapist sample. No significant relationship was revealed between moral development and self-reported likelihood of raping measures. These findings of poor discrimination between convicted rapists and others suggest that self-reported likelihood of raping, general attitude to rape, and moral development may have limited impact on actual rape behaviour.

The Longitudinal Effects of a Rape-prevention Program on Fraternity Men's Attitudes, Behavioral Intent, and Behavior

Rape myth acceptance, likelihood of raping, and sexually coercive behavior of 145 fraternity men randomly assigned to a control group or a rape-prevention program were surveyed. One third of 23 fraternities on a mid-Atlantic public university campus volunteered to participate in the study. The rape-prevention intervention consisted of “the men's program,” a victim empathy-based presentation titled “How to help a sexual assault survivor: What men can do.” Although no evidence of change in sexually coercive behavior was found, significant 7-month declines in rape myth acceptance and the likelihood of committing rape were shown among program participants. In the case of rape myth acceptance, the 7-month decrement remained lower in the participant group than in the control group. Implications of using these initial findings from the men's program for rape-prevention programming are discussed.

Rape myths as neutralizing cognitions: evidence for a causal impact of anti-victim attitudes on men's self-reported likelihood of raping

Men's rape myth acceptance (RMA; prejudiced beliefs that serve to exonerate the rapist and blame the victim) has been shown to correlate positively with self-reported rape proclivity (RP). To explore the causal pathway underlying this correlation, two experiments were conducted in which the relative cognitive accessibility of RMA and RP was varied. Male students were asked to report their RP in the context of a scale assessing attraction toward sexual aggression (Experiment 1) or in response to five realistic date-rape scenarios (Experiment 2), either before or after they filled out a 20-item RMA scale. In both studies, the correlation of RMA and RP was significantly greater in the after than in the before condition, suggesting that the belief in rape myths has a causal influence on men's proclivity to rape. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Rape: The roles of outcome expectancies and hypermasculinity

Outcome expectancies regarding coercive sexual behavior of male undergraduates were investigated to understand their possible association with self-reported past and future coercive sexual behavior and hypermasculine personality styles. Subjects indicating lower negative outcome expectancies regarding rape reported a greater history of coercive sexual behavior and higher future likelihood of raping, and were more likely to fit a hypermasculine personality pattern. Regression analysis revealed that a hypermasculine personality style, self-reported likelihood of raping, and the interaction between rape outcome expectancies and hypermasculine personality best predicted a history of sexual coercion. Implications for future research and primary prevention are discussed.

Rape: The Roles of Outcome Expectancies and Hypermasculinity

Outcome expectancies regarding coercive sexual behavior of male undergraduates were investigated to understand their possible association with self-reported past and future coercive sexual behavior and hypermasculine personality styles. Subjects indicating lower negative outcome expectancies regarding rape reported a greater history of coercive sexual behavior and higher future likelihood of raping, and were more likely to fit a hypermasculine personality pattern. Regression analysis revealed that a hypermasculine personality style, self-reported likelihood of raping, and the interaction between rape outcome expectancies and hypermasculine personality best predicted a history of sexual coercion. Implications for future research and primary prevention are discussed.

Sexually Violent Pornography, Anti-Women Attitudes, and Sexual Aggression: A Structural Equation Model

Using data provided by male university students, several structural equation models were developed and tested to assess the interrelationship of pornography use, anti-women attitudes, and propensity for sexual violence. The model best fitting the data is one in which use of Sexually Violent Pornography and Anti-Women Attitudes are exogenous latent variables predicting self-reported Likelihood of Rape and Likelihood of using Sexual Force, as well as self-reported history of having achieved sexual intercourse by use of Coercion and Force. A variation of this model which includes use of Nonviolent Pornography as an exogenous variable was also tested. Consistent with previous research, use of nonviolent pornography was not uniquely associated with potential or actual sexual aggression. The findings suggest the potential roles of both attitudes and sexually violent pornography in the occurrence of sexual aggression. Further, they support other research findings that suggest it is not merely exposure to sexually explicit materials, per se, but the combination of sex and violence in pornographic materials that encourages or facilitates sexual aggression.

Sexual harassment proclivities in men and women

Sexual harassment proclivities in both men and women were studied in 222 college students. They were administered the newly developed Sexual Harassment Proclivities Scale and their scores were compared with a large number of measures, including sex-role stereotyping, adversarial sexual beliefs, sexual conservatism, acceptance of interpersonal violence, rape myth acceptance, likelihood of rape, acceptance of feminism, empathetic concern, sexual activity, and sexual exploitation. Most of the results were statistically significant for both males and females, although correlations tended to be higher for males. A factor analysis of the Sexual Harassment Proclivities Scale yielded a one-factor solution for both men and women, supporting the view that the scale measures likelihood of sexual harassment.

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

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.

The Acquaintance Predicament of a Rape Victim1

The acquaintance predicament of a rape victim was examined in six experiments with between‐subjects designs with samples drawn from the undergraduate student population of the University of Bombay. The experiments used rape vignettes for the manipulation of all independent variables except subject's sex and were done in three pairs such that each pair had the same independent variables and first dependent measure, namely, recommended years of imprisonment for the rapist. The second dependent measure was attributed victim's fault in the first experiment and perceived likelihood of rape in the second experiment of each pair. The first pair of experiments had a 2 (subject's sex) × 2 (acquainted vs. unacquainted rapist) × 3 (rapist's status: manager, stenotypist, or watchman) × 2 (complaint vs. no complaint by victim) design, with the rape victim being described as a stenotypist. The second pair of experiments differed from the first pair in only one respect, with victim's marital status (married vs. divorced victim) replacing the independent variable of complaint of the first pair. The third pair of experiments had a 2 (subject's sex) × 2 (physically hurt vs. not hurt victim) × 5 (rapist's relationship with victim: husband, fiance, friend, acquaintance, or stranger) design. Female subjects, as compared to male subjects, recommended longer imprisonment for the rapist, attributed less fault to the victim, and perceived greater likelihood of rape. The victim was attributed less fault in case of stranger rape versus acquaintance rape and also less fault in the complaint versus the no complaint condition. Longer imprisonment was recommended for the rapist when the victim was physically hurt rather than not hurt.