In this study we examined the ability of a modified Sexual Experiences Survey (SES; Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987) to assess sexual victimization among a local community sample of women (n = 1,014). Women who reported sexual victimization were interviewed regarding the most recent incident. Those who responded negatively to all SES items were asked whether they had ever feared they would be sexually assaulted but were not, and to describe that incident. Independent coders read a subset of transcripts (n = 137) and classified each incident as reflecting: one of the SES items, a form of unwanted sex not included on the SES, or not unwanted sex. Coders viewed nearly all incidents elicited by the SES as reflecting some type of unwanted sex. Respondent-coder agreement for rape and coercion incidents was high, but low for contact and attempted rape incidents. The SES scoring continuum, reflecting objective severity of acts, was only modestly associated with subjective trauma associated with rape, attempted rape, coercion, and contact.

Experiences of verbal sexual coercion are common and have potential for negative consequences, yet are not well understood. This study used qualitative and descriptive statistics to examine verbal sexual coercion experiences among a community sample of 114 women and explored the role of sexual precedence in these experiences. Analyses revealed that sexual precedence plays an important role in determining how these experiences come about and why women acquiesce to unwanted intercourse. Verbal persuasion and persistence were the most commonly reported tactics. The valence of this verbal persuasion differed qualitatively according to precedence status, with those having a history of sexual precedence using negative persuasion (e.g., threats to relationship) and those with no precedence relying on positive messages (e.g., sweet talk). Most women used direct verbal resistance to indicate their unwillingness to have sex, regardless of precedence status. Women's reasons for compliance and consequences differed qualitatively according to sexual precedence status.

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Although behavioral risk factors such as substance use have been hypothesized to increase women's vulnerability to sexual victimization, prospective studies provide mixed empirical support. In the current prospective study, the authors considered substance use, sexual activity, and sexual assertiveness as predictors of sexual victimization from intimate partners and nonintimate perpetrators. Among a representative community sample of women ages 18-30 years (N = 927), 17.9% reported sexual victimization over 2 years, the majority by an intimate partner. Low sexual refusal assertiveness, drug use, and prior intimate partner victimization predicted intimate partner sexual victimization. Heavy episodic drinking and number of sexual partners predicted victimization from nonintimates. The finding that there are different risk factors for sexual victimization from intimates versus nonintimates suggests the need for tailored prevention strategies.

Low sexual assertiveness has been proposed as a possible mechanism through which sexual revictimization occurs, yet evidence for this has been mixed. In this study, prospective path analysis was used to examine the relationship between sexual refusal assertiveness and sexual victimization over time among a community sample of women. Results provide support for a reciprocal relationship, with historical victimization predicting low sexual assertiveness and low sexual assertiveness predicting subsequent victimization. The effect of recent sexual victimization on subsequent sexual assertiveness also was replicated prospectively. These findings suggest that strengthening sexual assertiveness may help reduce vulnerability to future victimization. Keywordsrevictimization; sexual assault; sexual assertiveness A large body of research reveals that women who have experienced sexual victimization are at increased risk of being revictimized, yet the mechanisms by which revictimization occurs are not well understood (e.g., Gidycz, Coble, Latham, & Layman, 1993;Gidycz, Hanson, & Layman, 1995;Messman-Moore & Long, 2000. Identifying and understanding these mechanisms are critical to prevention. Psychological vulnerability is thought to be one of the mechanisms through which women's risk of sexual revictimization is increased (see MessmanMoore & Long [2003] for a review). Psychological vulnerability refers to psychological or social vulnerabilities within the victim (e.g., low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, low assertiveness) that potential perpetrators are likely to identify and act upon. This study focuses on one aspect of psychological vulnerability, sexual assertiveness, because unlike depression or anxiety, assertiveness may be amenable to change through behavioral intervention. To maximize its potential for intervention, a better understanding of the relationship between sexual assertiveness and sexual victimization is needed. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between sexual assertiveness and sexual victimization over time.Considering the role of assertiveness in sexual victimization has intuitive appeal. It is logical to assume that women who are low in assertiveness have a difficult time refusing unwanted sexual advances and may be targeted by aggressive men. Conversely, theories regarding the sequelae of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and other victimization have proposed that experiences from which one is unable to escape or avoid can result in feelings of powerlessness or learned helplessness, potentially leading the victim to believe that it is impossible to avoid or prevent future victimization (Finkelhor, 1987;Peterson & Seligman, 1983). In addition to fostering psychological distress such as depression and anxiety, such powerlessness may be translated behaviorally into a lack of assertiveness in sexual situations. It may also be that the relationship between sexual victimization and assertiveness is reciprocal. That is, history of sexual victimization contributes to low sexual ass...

This article summarizes a symposium organized and cochaired by Maria Testa and presented at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism, in Santa Barbara, California. The symposium explored issues relevant to understanding the function of placebo conditions and to interpreting placebo effects. Cochair Mark Fillmore began with an overview of the use of placebo conditions in alcohol research, focusing on methodological issues. Jeanette Norris and her colleagues conducted a review of studies examining placebo conditions among women. They conclude that expectancy effects are limited to a few domains. Maria Testa and Antonia Abbey presented papers suggesting that placebo manipulations may result in unanticipated compensatory effects in actual or hypothetical social situations. That is, placebo participants may compensate for anticipated cognitive impairment through vigilant attention to situational cues. John Curtin's research suggests that the compensatory strategies of placebo participants appear to involve a sensitization of evaluative control, resulting in improved performance. Kenneth Leonard provided concluding remarks on the meaning of placebo effects and the value of placebo conditions in research. KeywordsAlcohol Drinking; Placebo Effect; Methods THE PLACEBO EFFECT is intimately tied to the concept of expectancy that arose out of the need to specify an internal (i.e., cognitive) representation of the learning experience (Bolles, 1972;Tolman, 1932). When an association between 2 events is learned, the first event is said to elicit an expectancy of the second event. Moreover, once learned, the expectancy itself can elicit the associated outcome, and thus expectancies are considered to be an important determinant of behavior (Kirsch, 1999).The placebo has a long history as a control-comparison condition in studies of drug effects on behavior (Kirsch, 1999). Early medical reports of the beneficial effects of placebos led to considerable interest beyond their use as control conditions. In particular, the placebo effect

Although a major predictor of sexual victimization is previous victimization, the mechanism underlying this effect is not well understood. Sexual assault history's impact on appraisal of and responses to sexual assault risk was examined in an experimental analog study. Intimacy with perpetrator was also examined as a potential contributor to appraisal and responses. Young women varying in sexual assault history were randomly assigned to receive a scenario in which type of perpetrator was manipulated (someone just met, friend, date, boyfriend). Respondents appraised the man's actions as sexual interest or assault and indicated intentions to respond (resistance and nonresistance). Sexual assault history did not directly influence appraisal or intended responses but had modest indirect effects on resistance via sexual assertiveness. The primary influence on appraisal and responses was perpetrator intimacy. Women facing advances within a more intimate relationship were less likely to appraise those advances as threatening and less likely to resist.

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been proposed to influence both women's adult sexual risk behaviors and the quality of their intimate relationships. Among a household sample of women (n = 732), good fit was obtained for a model in which CSA predicted Wave 1 male partner sexual risk and aggression characteristics, resulting in lower relationship satisfaction, and ultimately in higher numbers of Wave 2 sexual partners. The model was generally replicated among women who entered new relationships at Waves 2 and 3. Partner sexual risk characteristics also were associated with women's risk of sexually transmitted infection from current partner. Elevated sexual risk behaviors among CSA survivors reflect difficulty in establishing stable and safe relationships and may be reduced by interventions aimed at improving intimate relationships.