The impact of rape acknowledgment on survivor outcomes: The moderating effects of rape myth acceptance

The purpose of this investigation was to develop a culturally relevant rape myth acceptance scale for Koreans. Three studies on the Korean Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (KRMAS) with approximately 1,000 observations provide initial validity and reliability. Specifically, results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support four subscales: myths about rape survivors, rape perpetrators, the impact of rape, and rape as spontaneous. The KRMAS was validated with student and community samples and a factorial invariance analysis provided evidence for the factor structure across men and women. The KRMAS total score was positively related to the Attitudes Toward Sex Role Scale–Korean and the Acceptance of Violence Scale, indicating that greater endorsement of rape myth acceptance was related to greater levels of attitudes toward traditional sex roles and violence against women. Implications of the findings and future research directions are provided.

Download Full-text

Sexism and Rape Myth Acceptance: The Impact of Culture, Education, and Religiosity

Psychological Reports ◽

10.1177/0033294119826896 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 123 (3) ◽

pp. 929-951

Author(s):

Francesca Prina ◽

Julie N. Schatz-Stevens

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Strong Predictor ◽

The United States ◽

Rape Myth Acceptance ◽

Rape Myth ◽

Sexist Attitudes ◽

Two Samples ◽

And Gender ◽

The Impact ◽

Myth Acceptance

This study explores the influence of education and religiosity on sexist attitudes towards women and rape myth acceptance in two samples totaling 399 participants from the United States and Italy. Both samples completed a demographic questionnaire that assessed age, area of residence, and racial and gender identification. Three questions about religiosity and three about education were included, as well as the Attitudes Towards Women Survey and the Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression. In the Italian pool, 44 held at least a bachelor’s degree, 108 had completed some college, and 29 completed high school at most, while the United States pool consisted of 83, 123, and 12, respectively. Average self-reported levels of religiousness were M = 3.87 (SD = 3.05) in Italy and M = 5.10 (SD = 2.76) in the United States. In both samples, religiosity was a strong predictor of both sexism and rape myth acceptance, while education was only related to rape myth acceptance and with less strength than religiosity. Moreover, country of residence was an important influence for sexist beliefs along with both religiosity and education; however, for rape myth acceptance, country did not have a significant impact.

Download Full-text

Effects of gender, rape myth acceptance, and perpetrator occupation on perceptions of rape

Journal of Criminal Psychology ◽

10.1108/jcp-12-2014-0019 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 249-261 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Simon Duff ◽

Amy Tostevin

Keyword(s):

Online Survey ◽

Public Attitudes ◽

Rape Myths ◽

Rape Myth Acceptance ◽

Rape Myth ◽

Rape Victims ◽

Content Type ◽

Female Occupation ◽

The Impact ◽

Myth Acceptance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of gender-stereotypical beliefs and associated factors (gender, level of rape myth acceptance (RMA), and occupation) on public attitudes towards rape victims with the aim of establishing whether participant and perpetrator characteristics have effects on individuals’ attitudes towards rape victims. With regards to participants, gender, age, occupation, and the extent to which an individual endorses rape myths were investigated. The authors also considered whether participants’ attitudes were influenced by the occupation of a rapist as described in a vignette looking at occupations deemed to be stereotypically male or female. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 185 individuals participated in the study and were randomly assigned to one of three conditions based on the rapist’s occupation (stereotypically male occupation, gender-neutral occupation or stereotypically female occupation). Participants completed an online survey consisting of a RMA questionnaire, read a short vignette depicting a rape scenario (where they were also informed of the perpetrator’s occupation) and completed a further questionnaire on their attitudes towards rape victims. Results were examined by regression. Findings – The results indicate that both participant occupation and level of RMA significantly contributed to attitudes towards rape victims, however, a statistically significant effect for rapist occupation was not found. Originality/value – Findings are discussed in terms of implications for individuals working within services supporting victims of rape and the potential consequences of holding stereotypical beliefs for rape victims and perpetrators. It is important that research identifies those factors that might bias decision making in the legal system and thus impact upon outcomes for victims and offenders.

Download Full-text

Rape acknowledgment and sexual minority identity: The indirect effect of rape myth acceptance.

Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity ◽

10.1037/sgd0000304 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 113-119 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Laura C. Wilson ◽

Amie R. Newins

Keyword(s):

Sexual Minority ◽

Indirect Effect ◽

Rape Myth Acceptance ◽

Rape Myth ◽

Minority Identity ◽

Rape Acknowledgment ◽

Sexual Minority Identity ◽

Myth Acceptance

Download Full-text

The Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale—Subtle Version: Using an Adapted Measure to Understand the Declining Rates of Rape Myth Acceptance

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/08862605211030013 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 088626052110300

Author(s):

Alexandra R. Thelan1 ◽

Elizabeth A. Meadows

Keyword(s):

Rape Myth Acceptance ◽

Rape Myth ◽

Main Question ◽

Single Item ◽

Acceptance Scale ◽

The Difference ◽

The Impact ◽

Order Of Administration ◽

Acceptance Measure ◽

Myth Acceptance

Research in recent years has shown decreased rates of rape myth acceptance. This decrease may be due to an actual decline in attitudes, but it may also be fully or in part because such attitudes have become socially undesirable to acknowledge. However, most of the current measures of rape myth acceptance are not sensitive to this issue. The purpose of the current study was to examine this issue by adapting the psychometrically sound items from the most established rape myth acceptance measure (the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, IRMA) and combining those with additional items that may seem less problematic to endorse. Results showed that the revised measure (IRMA-S) elicited higher levels of rape myth acceptance than the original when both were administered to all participants, regardless of the order of administration. This suggests that the decrease may in fact be due more to measurement issues than real declines in rape myth acceptance. However, this difference was very small practically, amounting to the difference between some agreement and some disagreement on a single item. Previous research has found that the measurement method employed in this study has been successful when utilizing other items, so it may be that the IRMA-S was not sensitive enough to detect real-world differences, or that having both measures included in a single administration, even with filler measures between them, affected responses to the IRMA-S. Despite not conclusively resolving that main question, this study moves this important area of research forward in several ways, including adding to the literature on rape myth acceptance results from a more diverse sample than previous ones and providing findings on the impact of different facets of social desirability, as well as pointing the way toward continued research on measurement of rape myth acceptance.

Download Full-text

An Experimental Study on the Impact of Informal Rape Myth Education to Alter Rape Myth Acceptance Scores in a Non-Student Sample

10.15760/etd.6344 ◽

2000 ◽

Author(s):

Leah Reddy

Keyword(s):

Experimental Study ◽

Rape Myth Acceptance ◽

Rape Myth ◽

Student Sample ◽

The Impact ◽

Myth Acceptance

Download Full-text

Forty Years of Rape Myth Acceptance Interventions: A Systematic Review of What Works in Naturalistic Institutional Settings and How this can be Applied to Educational Guidance for Jurors

Trauma Violence & Abuse ◽

10.1177/15248380211050575 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 152483802110505

Author(s):

Lara F. Hudspith ◽

Nadia Wager ◽

Dominic Willmott ◽

Bernard Gallagher

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Rape Myth Acceptance ◽

Rape Myth ◽

Institutional Setting ◽

Future Research ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Institutional Settings ◽

The Impact ◽

Research Studies ◽

Myth Acceptance

A systematic review of research assessing rape myth acceptance (RMA) interventions within institutional settings was conducted. The aim of this review was to inform the development of an educational intervention for jurors in rape trials that addresses rape myths, given previous evidence that RMA can affect decision-making and verdicts (Dinos et al., 2015; Gravelin et al., 2019; Leverick, 2020). 12 databases were searched, filtered to return peer-reviewed journals, published from 1980 to 2020, written in English. After removing duplicates from the 5,093 search results returned, 2,676 studies were screened for inclusion. Research studies were included in the review if they assessed the impact of a naturalistic intervention on RMA within an institutional setting. Studies that did not compare an experimental condition to a control condition or did not randomly allocate participants to conditions were excluded. Studies were also excluded if they used a non-validated, or adapted, RMA measure. 20 Research studies were included within the review and were critically appraised according to an author-created critical appraisal tool. It was concluded that RMA interventions can have a short-term impact upon individuals' RMA. Intervention types that were effective in reducing RMA included those that presented RM information; those that contained an empathy component; and bystander programmes. With regards to duration and format, short interventions led to reductions in RMA, and most successful interventions were presented via videos. Implications for policy and practice, and recommendations for future research, are discussed.

Download Full-text