College Women’s Assignment of Blame Versus Responsibility for Sexual Assault Experiences

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (14) ◽  
pp. 1671-1688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sapana D. Donde
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
College Women ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Self Blame ◽  
Perpetrator Blame

The present study investigated in a sample of college women ( N = 154) (a) assignment of self-blame, perpetrator blame, personal responsibility, and perpetrator responsibility for sexual assault; (b) differences in how women assigned blame versus responsibility toward themselves and the perpetrator; (c) significant correlations between blame and responsibility of self and the perpetrator and positive and negative post-assault outcomes; and (d) the underlying factors that explained different forms of blame and responsibility. The present study suggests a need for future sexual assault research to delineate and further examine the constructs of blame and responsibility. Implications for practice are also discussed.

Factors Associated With College Women’s Labeling of Sexual Victimization

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 940-958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay M. Orchowski ◽  
Amy S. Untied ◽  
Christine A. Gidycz
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
College Women ◽  
Sexual Victimization ◽  
Date Rape ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Self Blame ◽  
Perpetrator Blame

Despite high rates of sexual assault among college women, most victims do not label the experience as sexual assault or rape. Prior research examining labeling of sexual victimization has focused on women’s characterization of rape experiences as either not victimization or victimization. This study extends prior research by exploring factors associated with labeling various forms of sexual victimization as “not victimization,” a “serious miscommunication,” or a “sexual assault, date rape, rape, or crime.” A sample of 1,060 college women reported on their experiences of sexual victimization since the age of 14 years. Women who reported experiences of prior sexual victimization (n = 371) indicated their level of acquaintance with the assailant, assault disclosure, substance use at time of assault, attributions of self- and perpetrator-blame for the assault, and labeling of the experience. Most women who reported experiences of sexual victimization did not self-identify as victims, and 38% labeled sexual victimization as a serious miscommunication. Greater acquaintance with the perpetrator, higher behavioral self-blame, and victim substance use at the time of the assault were associated with labeling sexual assault experiences as a serious miscommunication. Implications are discussed.

scholarly journals Emotional Responses to a Sexual Assault Threat: A Qualitative Analysis Among Women With Histories of Sexual Victimization

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin E. Silver ◽  
RaeAnn Elizabeth Anderson ◽  
Amanda M. Brouwer
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
College Women ◽  
Sexual Victimization ◽  
Clinical Intervention ◽  
The United States ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Emotional Dysregulation ◽  
Sexual Revictimization ◽  
Self Blame

Sexual assaults against women are a leading threat to human rights and public health in the United States. Considering the high rates of sexual revictimization among women and the limited understanding of the mechanisms which fuel this phenomenon, the goal of the present study was to investigate the role of emotion in coping with a hypothetical threat of sexual assault for previously sexually victimized college women. A total of 114 college women with a history of sexual victimization listened to an audio-recording describing a sexual assault scenario and then described how they felt. A qualitative analysis paradigm was used to capture participants’ responses in an open-ended, real-time, experiential manner. Data were analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research—Modified methodology. Four main themes emerged (Negative Reactions, Indifferent Evaluations, Active Responses, and Cognitive Appraisal of the Situation), along with various subcategories, demonstrating the variability of women’s responses to a sexual assault threat. Many women experienced uncomfortable or distressing emotional reactions to the vignette, primarily through discomfort, but also through anger, anxiety, and being upset. Few women reported experiencing fear, and a small number reported experiencing self-blame. The low endorsement of fear and anger in our high-risk sample indicates emotional dysregulation as a potential mechanism of repeated sexual victimization and a promising target for clinical intervention. Overall, results may inform sexual assault risk reduction efforts and the empowerment of women who have experienced sexual victimization.

scholarly journals Emotional Responses to a Sexual Assault Threat: A Qualitative Analysis Among Women With Histories of Sexual Victimization

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052090801
Author(s):  
Kristin E. Silver ◽  
RaeAnn E. Anderson ◽  
Amanda M. Brouwer
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
College Women ◽  
Sexual Victimization ◽  
Clinical Intervention ◽  
The United States ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Emotional Dysregulation ◽  
Sexual Revictimization ◽  
Self Blame

Sexual assaults against women are a leading threat to human rights and public health in the United States. Considering the high rates of sexual revictimization among women and the limited understanding of the mechanisms which fuel this phenomenon, the goal of the present study was to investigate the role of emotion in coping with a hypothetical threat of sexual assault for previously sexually victimized college women. A total of 114 college women with a history of sexual victimization listened to an audio-recording describing a sexual assault scenario and then described how they felt. A qualitative analysis paradigm was used to capture participants’ responses in an open-ended, real-time, experiential manner. Data were analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research—Modified methodology. Four main themes emerged ( Negative Reactions, Indifferent Evaluations, Active Responses, and Cognitive Appraisal of the Situation), along with various subcategories, demonstrating the variability of women’s responses to a sexual assault threat. Many women experienced uncomfortable or distressing emotional reactions to the vignette, primarily through discomfort, but also through anger, anxiety, and being upset. Few women reported experiencing fear, and a small number reported experiencing self-blame. The low endorsement of fear and anger in our high-risk sample indicates emotional dysregulation as a potential mechanism of repeated sexual victimization and a promising target for clinical intervention. Overall, results may inform sexual assault risk reduction efforts and the empowerment of women who have experienced sexual victimization.

scholarly journals “I’ve Never Told Anyone”: A Qualitative Analysis of Interviews With College Women Who Experienced Sexual Assault and Remained Silent

2021 ◽  
pp. 107780122110227
Author(s):  
Sandra L. Caron ◽  
Deborah Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
College Women ◽  
Women Survivors ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Depth Interviews

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the decision made by some college women who are raped to tell no one. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 college women between the ages of 19-24 who had never shared their sexual assault with anyone prior to speaking to the researchers. This study provides a systematic investigation of the factors underlying women’s decisions to remain silent. The knowledge and understanding gained from these in-depth interviews offer insight for individuals and institutions to support these students and for the development of future efforts encouraging women survivors to tell someone.

Measurement Invariance of the Sexual Assault Script Scale (SASS): An Examination Among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White College Women

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052098549
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Yeater ◽  
Kristen N. Vitek ◽  
Ryan S. Ross ◽  
Meredith Blackwell ◽  
Katie Witkiewitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
College Women ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Sexual Victimization ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
The United States ◽  
Bisexual Women ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Hispanic White ◽  
White College

Rates of sexual victimization have remained steady over several decades, and preventative interventions to reduce men’s sexually aggressive behavior have been largely ineffective. As such, research has endeavored to find novel approaches to identify women at increased risk for sexual victimization. Sexual assault scripts, or “cognitive models” that women adhere to that guide their beliefs about sexual assault are posited to influence their victimization risk. Prior studies on sexual assault scripts primarily have been qualitative in nature; however, recent work yielded a 27-item measure of putative risk for sexual victimization called the Sexual Assault Script Scale (SASS). The SASS has four subscales called Stereotypical Assault Scripts, Acquaintance Assault Scripts, Assault Resistance Scripts, and Date/Friend Assault Scripts, which were found in prior work to be internally consistent and associated with putative risk factors for sexual victimization. The focus of the current study was to test the measurement invariance of the SASS among Hispanic and non-Hispanic White college women who were recruited in the prior study. Four hundred sixty-nine ( N = 469) Hispanic and 415 non-Hispanic White US undergraduate heterosexual or bisexual women from a Southwestern university in the United States completed the SASS. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) replicated the prior four-factor model with an acceptable fit to the data, and tests of measurement invariance revealed the SASS to be invariant across Hispanic and non-Hispanic White college women, suggesting that the SASS is measuring a similar construct in these groups.

College Women and Sexual Assault: The Role of Sex-related Alcohol Expectancies

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 341-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda J. Benson ◽  
Carol L. Gohm ◽  
Alan M. Gross
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
College Women ◽  
Alcohol Expectancies
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