Predictors of College Students’ Likelihood to Report Hypothetical Rape: Rape Myth Acceptance, Perceived Barriers to Reporting, and Self-Efficacy

Colleges are rape-prone cultures with high rates of sexual victimization. Fraternities’ and sororities’ relationships with sexual assault are consistent themes in literature focusing on sexual violence among college students. Previous research suggests that fraternity men are more likely to endorse rape-supportive attitudes compared with non-Greek men or sorority women. The present study examines rape-supportive attitudes as well as rape and sexual assault victimization in college students with a focus on gender and Greek-life (i.e., involvement in fraternities or sororities) status variables. College students ( N = 1,002) completed a survey including the Token Resistance to Sex Scale (TRSS), Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale–Short Form (IRMA-S), and items related to past experiences of nonconsensual sex. Two regression models tested predictors of token resistance and rape myth acceptance. Chi-square analyses tested between-group differences of experiencing rape and sexual assault. Gender ( p < .001), Greek status ( p < .001), and race/ethnicity ( p < .001) were predictors for TRSS scores. For IRMA scores, gender ( p < .001), Greek status ( p < .001), and race/ethnicity variables ( p < .001) were also significant. Interaction terms revealed that Greek men had higher token resistance and rape myth acceptance than any other group. Chi-square analyses indicate women more frequently report experiences of rape (χ2 = 25.57, df = 1, p < .001) and sexual assault (χ2 = 31.75, df = 1, p < .001). Men report high rates (40.8%) of experiencing sexual assault “because refusing was useless.” No differences of victimization rates were found between Greeks and non-Greeks. Gender and sexual scripting theory can help explain gender differences in attitudes and experiences. Greater endorsement of rape myth acceptance and token resistance by Greeks, who influence college party culture, could be contributing to a culture conducive to rape. Findings demonstrate a continued need for interventions focused on shifting sociocultural dynamics (e.g., traditional roles and sexual scripting) on college campuses.

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The Chivalrous Bystander: The Role of Gender-Based Beliefs and Empathy on Bystander Behavior and Perceived Barriers to Intervention

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260520916277 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 088626052091627

Author(s):

Kristen Yule ◽

Jill C. Hoxmeier ◽

Kevin Petranu ◽

John Grych

Keyword(s):

Benevolent Sexism ◽

Rape Myth Acceptance ◽

Perceived Barriers ◽

Hostile Sexism ◽

Rape Myth ◽

Bystander Behavior ◽

Behavior Understanding ◽

Skill Deficit ◽

Gender Based ◽

Myth Acceptance

Despite substantial evidence demonstrating a relation between gender-based beliefs and violence against women, there has been little research examining whether sexist attitudes are related to prosocial bystander behavior. Understanding psychosocial influences on bystanders’ behavior could inform bystander training programs on college campuses, and so the current study examined the unique and joint effects of three gender-based attitudes (rape myth acceptance, hostile sexism, and benevolent sexism) and empathy in predicting bystander behavior and perceived barriers to intervention in situations that undergraduates ( N = 500; 70% female; Mage = 18.86 years) had experienced in the prior year. Benevolent sexism was the only gender-based attitude consistently associated with bystander behavior and perceived barriers. After accounting for participant empathy, benevolent sexism uniquely predicted less intervention in post-assault situations, greater perceived barriers in pre- and post-assault situations, and greater Failure to Perceive Responsibility and Skill Deficit barriers across situations. Associations between gender-based attitudes and bystander behavior also differed for men and women, with rape myth acceptance predicting greater Failure to Perceive Responsibility barriers and benevolent sexism predicting greater Skill Deficit barriers for women but not men. These results suggest that existing bystander education programs can be improved by explicitly addressing benevolent sexist beliefs and promoting empathy for victims of assault.

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Rape Myth Acceptance Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Mostly Heterosexual College Students

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260517733282 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 088626051773328 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Meredith G. F. Worthen

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Rape Myth Acceptance ◽

Rape Myth ◽

Mostly Heterosexual ◽

Myth Acceptance

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The effectiveness of the Bringing in the Bystander™ program among first-year students at a religiously-affiliated liberal arts college

Journal of Social and Political Psychology ◽

10.5964/jspp.v6i2.971 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 511-525 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Elizabeth M. Inman ◽

Stephenie R. Chaudoir ◽

Paul R. Galvinhill ◽

Ann M. Sheehy

Keyword(s):

Self Efficacy ◽

Liberal Arts ◽

Survey Design ◽

Liberal Arts College ◽

Rape Myth Acceptance ◽

Rape Myth ◽

First Year ◽

Median Income ◽

First Year Students ◽

Myth Acceptance

To address sexual assault, many universities are implementing Bringing in the Bystander™ (BitB) training, a prevention program that aims to improve participants’ bystander self-efficacy and reduce rape myth acceptance. Although growing evidence supports the efficacy of BitB, data primarily have been amassed at one large public university, the University of New Hampshire, limiting the generalizability of intervention effectiveness. To address this gap, we made modifications to training structure and assessed BitB effectiveness among first-year students at a private Jesuit Catholic liberal arts college in Massachusetts. Using a within-subjects pre-/post-test survey design, we found that students’ (N = 164) bystander self-efficacy significantly increased and rape myth acceptance significantly decreased following training. Results indicate that BitB implementation is feasible and effective on a new campus despite modest modifications to training delivery and despite differences in religious affiliation, median income, and class size between the two campuses.

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Rape Myth Acceptance Among Korean College Students: The Roles of Gender, Attitudes Toward Women, and Sexual Double Standard

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260509340536 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 25 (7) ◽

pp. 1200-1223 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Joohee Lee ◽

Jinseok Kim ◽

Hyunsung Lim

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Double Standard ◽

Rape Myth Acceptance ◽

Attitudes Toward Women ◽

Rape Myth ◽

Gender Attitudes ◽

Sexual Double Standard ◽

Korean College Students ◽

Myth Acceptance

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Rape Myth Acceptance, Efficacy, and Heterosexual Scripts in Men’s Magazines: Factors Associated With Intentions to Sexually Coerce or Intervene

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260516653752 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 34 (8) ◽

pp. 1703-1733 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Stacey J. T. Hust ◽

Kathleen Boyce Rodgers ◽

Stephanie Ebreo ◽

Whitney Stefani

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Sexual Assault ◽

Sexual Coercion ◽

Rape Myth Acceptance ◽

Rape Myth ◽

Negatively Associated ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Men's Magazines ◽

Potential Factors ◽

Myth Acceptance

Sexual coercion has gained researchers’ attention as an underreported form of sexual abuse or harm. The percentage of male and female college students who reported engaging in sexual coercion was as high as 82% for verbally coercive behaviors over the course of a year. Guided by heterosexual scripting theory and the integrated model of behavioral prediction, we examine potential factors associated with college students’ intentions to sexually coerce or to intervene when friends plan to sexually coerce (bystander intention). Factors included young college students’ beliefs about rape myth acceptance, perceived norms, efficacy to reduce sexual-assault risk, and exposure to men’s and women’s magazines. As predicted, results indicate rape myth acceptance was positively associated with intentions to sexually coerce, and negatively associated with bystander intentions to intervene. Students’ efficacy to reduce sexual-assault risk was negatively associated with intentions to sexually coerce, and positively associated with bystander intentions. Exposure to the heterosexual scripts in men’s magazines, which connect sexual prowess to masculinity, was associated with intentions to sexually coerce. Exposure to magazines was not associated with bystander intentions to intervene. Overall, an understanding of the independent contribution of these factors toward sexual coercion and intervention has implications for dating violence prevention programming.

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