The present study examines
alcohol use, expectancies (i.e., beliefs about the outcomes of alcohol
consumption), and college men’s (n =
127) and women’s (n =
191) respective perceptions of risk to perpetrate/experience sexual violence.
Interactions between alcohol consumption and expectancies were examined.
Alcohol expectancies regarding assertiveness increased women’s perceived risk
for sexual intercourse via alcohol/drugs. Among women reporting high alcohol
use, global expectancies were positively associated with perceived risk for
sexual intercourse via alcohol/drugs. Furthermore, among women reporting low
alcohol use, expectancies regarding assertiveness were positively associated
with perceived risk for coerced sexual contact. Implications are discussed.
Below: Simple slopes analysis: Women’s perceived risk to experience coerced sexual contact
Below: Simple slopes analysis: Women’s perceived risk to experience unwanted sexual intercourse as a result of administration of alcohol or drugs
…In light of the well-documented associations among alcohol
use, expectancies, and sexual assault, the purpose of this study was to examine
whether these variables were also associated with men’s and women’s perceived
risk of perpetrating or experiencing various forms of sexual violence. Men’s
and women’s respective perceived risk to perpetrate or experience various forms of
sexual violence over a 3-month interim was examined. Furthermore, because
research examining the relationship between substance use behaviors and
likelihood to perpetrate sexual aggression has been primarily conducted within
laboratory settings that involve exposure to violent pornography or the
administration of alcohol (e.g., Malamuth, 1988; Norris, George, et al., 1999; Norris et al., 2002),
this research utilized surveys that assessed men’s self-reported likelihood to
engage in sexual aggression. Women also completed behaviorally oriented
assessments of perceived risk to experience various forms of victimization.
Among women, the multivariate models suggested that
women’s history of sexual victimization predicted perceptions of risk to experience
coerced or forced sexual contact and sexual intercourse as a result of a man’s
coercion or the administration of alcohol/drugs. These findings mirror prior
results suggesting women with a history of sexual victimization report they are
at higher risk to experience sexual assault than women without such a history (Kimmerling et al., 2007).
As A. L. Brown et al. (2005) discuss,
it is common for individuals who experience a negative life event to recognize
they may experience the event in the future.
Multivariate analyses also indicated that higher
weekly alcohol use increased women’s perceived risk to experience sexual
intercourse as a result of a man’s authority or administration of
alcohol/drugs. Because prior research generally does not distinguish between
women’s perceived risk for different types of sexual assault, the current data
extend findings suggesting women who were heavy drinkers perceived themselves
at higher risk for future sexual victimization than nondrinkers (Gidycz et al., 2007).
Given the clear associations between alcohol use and sexual assault (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2006), it seems
positive that women who report a higher level of weekly alcohol use recognize
they may be more likely to be targeted for a sexual assault than women
reporting a lower level of weekly alcohol use. However, even when women
recognize that alcohol use increases risk for sexual assault, they may not take
steps to reduce their risk for sexual victimization when drinking, or take
steps to reduce their alcohol use. For example, McCauley and Calhoun (2008) documented
that although college women acknowledge that alcohol use increases a woman’s
risk for sexual victimization, they nonetheless believe they will be in control
of a dating situation when intoxicated. Thus, it is important that sexual
assault risk reduction programs not only teach women to recognize the
situational and perpetrator characteristics associated with sexual assault, but
also address ways to reduce vulnerability to potential perpetrators when
choosing to drink.
Several associations between women’s expectancies when
drinking and perceived risk for victimization were evidenced. First, higher
expectancies regarding assertiveness when drinking were associated with
increased perceived risk to experience sexual intercourse as a result of
administration of alcohol/drugs. Second, among women reporting low levels of
alcohol use, higher expectancies regarding assertiveness when drinking were
associated with increased perceptions of risk for coerced sexual contact. While
speculative, it is possible that women who expect to be assertive when drinking
are aware that they are more likely to encounter men who use coercion or
alcohol/drugs to obtain sexual contact or intercourse, respectively. An
awareness of personal vulnerability to experience unwanted sexual advances when
drinking may be especially salient among women who report low levels of alcohol
use and expect to be assertive when consuming alcohol. Third, among women
reporting high levels of weekly alcohol use, higher expectancies regarding
global positive experiences when drinking were associated with increased
perceptions of risk to experience sexual intercourse as the result of the
administration of alcohol/drugs. Whereas future research is needed to explore
this finding, it may be women who consume high levels of alcohol and believe
that drinking leads to a good outcome recognize they will be more uninhibited
when drinking, and thus potentially more at risk to be given alcohol/drugs by a
man seeking to obtain sexual activity against their will.
It should be noted that four of the seven multiple
regression analyses did not yield associations between alcohol expectancies and
women’s perceived risk for various forms of victimization. Specifically,
alcohol expectancies did not emerge as a predictor of women’s perceived risk to
experience forced sexual contact or sexual intercourse, unwanted sexual contact
as a result of a man’s use of authority, or coerced sexual intercourse.
However, relatively few women perceived themselves at some risk to experience
many of these forms of victimization. Specifically, less than 40% of women
perceived themselves to be at some risk to experience forced sexual contact
(34.1%), forced sexual intercourse (29.3%), coerced sexual intercourse (38.2%),
or unwanted sexual contact as a result of a man’s authority (18.8%). More
commonly, women perceived themselves at some risk to experience coerced sexual
contact (61.3%) and unwanted sexual intercourse as a result of alcohol/drug
administration (41.9%). Although speculative, it is possible that alcohol
expectancies serve as a more robust predictor of women’s perceived risk to
experience specific types of victimization, such as unwanted sexual contact or
sexual intercourse as a result of the administration of alcohol/drugs.
It was notable that 33% of men indicated some
intention to perpetrate at least one form of sexual aggression. These data are
consistent with research suggesting that more than one third of men who engage
in sexual aggression indicate they are at risk to do so (Abbey et al., 1998, Dean & Malamuth, 1997; Osland, Fitch, & Willis, 1996). Because no
men indicated any risk to perpetrate forced sexual contact or intercourse, and
few men reported any risk to obtain sexual contact or intercourse via
authority, correlates of men’s perceived likelihood to perpetrate these forms
of aggression were not examined. Instead, types of sexual aggression that men
reported some perceived likelihood to perpetrate included: coerced sexual
contact (26.0%) or intercourse (18.9%) and administration of alcohol/drugs to
obtain sexual intercourse (7.9%). These data underscore the importance of
communicating to men that using verbal pressure or alcohol as a means to engage
in sexual activity constitutes sexual aggression (DeGue & DeLillo, 2005).
Multivariate analyses suggested that a history of
sexual aggression was associated with perceived likelihood to obtain sexual
contact through coercion, and obtain sexual intercourse through coercion or the
administration of alcohol/drugs. Because repeat perpetration is common and a
relatively small group of men commit the majority of sexual assaults (Lisak & Miller, 2002),
these data underscore the importance of targeting men who recognize they are at
risk to engage in sexually aggressive behavior within campus sexual assault
prevention programs. Social norms programs (Gidycz, Orchowski, &
Berkowitz, 2011) and bystander intervention programs (Banyard, Moynihan, & Plante, 2007) may be
particularly effective in teaching men the difference between appropriate and
inappropriate dating behaviors.
In light of prior research documenting differences in
global positive alcohol expectancies (Aromaki & Lindman, 2001; Menard et al., 2003)
and alcohol expectancies regarding sexuality (McMurran & Bellfield, 2003; Palmer et al., 2010; Wilson et al., 2002) in sexually aggressive
and nonsexually aggressive men, it was surprising that alcohol use or alcohol
expectancies were not associated with men’s perceived likelihood to perpetrate
any of the forms of sexual aggression in the multivariate models. Given the
relatively low rates of perpetration among the current sample (12.6%), future
research examining these constructs among samples of high-risk men (i.e., men
with a history of sexual aggression, men who report heavy drinking) is
warranted. It is possible that assessing risk to perpetrate over a longer
interim may have increased men’s reporting of perceived likelihood to
perpetrate. Furthermore, Norris and her colleagues (2002) reported
that men’s expectancies and consumption of alcohol acted jointly to increase
men’s perceived likelihood to perpetrate sexual aggression after viewing
explicit and violent media. Thus, it is possible that men’s beliefs about how
alcohol will influence their behavior serves to increase intentions to engage
in sexual aggression only after
men have consumed alcohol. Furthermore, this study did not include an
assessment of personality characteristics. However, the confluence model of
sexual aggression (Malamuth, Sockloskie, Koss,
& Tanaka, 1991) suggests that multiple life experiences,
attitudes, and behaviors interact to increase men’s proclivity to engage in
sexual aggression. Future studies may advance this area of research by
including measures of men’s attitudes and belief systems. Qualitative research
may also be helpful in providing a richer understanding of the intrapersonal,
interpersonal, and environmental factors that increase men’s likelihood to
perpetrate.
1Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH, USA
2Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
Corresponding Author: Lindsay M. Orchowski,
Brown University, Women and Infants Hospital, 90 Plain Street, Office 253,
Providence RI, 02903, USA. Email: ude.nworb@ikswohcro_yasdnil
And: http://twitter.com/Prison_Health
