Acquaintance Rape, Ego-Identity Achievement, and Locus of Control

Abstract

One hundred and thirteen women participated in a study of the relationship between acquaintance rape, ego-identity achievement, and locus of control. Results showed that, compared to women who had not been assaulted, survivors of acquaintance rape reported lower ego-identity achievement and greater beliefs that the outcomes of their lives were controlled by luck, chance, or powerful others. It was further found that the relationships between acquaintance rape and the respective forms of external locus of control (Chance and Powerful Others) were mediated by level of ego-identity achievement.People make assumptions about themselves and about the world. These assumptions form the basis of a personal theory of reality which allows them a sense of self, a sense of efficacy, and a sense of order, and which influences their choices and actions. However, these assumptions often cannot account for traumatic events (Janoff-Bulman, 1985;Janoff-Bulman, 1989;Janoff-Bulman & Hanson-Frieze, 1983).Rape is an interpersonal trauma that may be defined as the nonconsensual sexual penetration of a person, obtained by physical force, by threat of bodily harm, or when the victim is incapable of giving consent by virtue of mental SOCIAL

Victimization, Fear of Crime, and Perceived Risk: Testing a Vulnerability Model of Personal Control

“…All three key predictors had significant effects on SPC, but not always in the expected directions. Results consistently refuted Hypothesis 1: victimization predicted higher SPC and increasing SPC between waves, contrary to most prior research (Macmillan and Hagan 2004;McEwan et al 2005). Yet this implied a resilient adaptation, which is not entirely unexpected.…”

“…First, the data contain the sense of personal control scale used heavily by Ross and Mirowsky (e.g., 2009) and others, as well as measures of victimization, perceived risk, and fear, all of which extend earlier studies that have not included one or more of these (Adams and Serpe 2000;Macmillan and Hagan 2004). Second, the sample size remains fairly large relative to some previous studies of violence and personal control (e.g., McEwan et al 2005). Third, the longitudinal panel design offers a chance to study individual change and to specify the causal/temporal order between the key predictors and personal control.…”

“…Many investigations of victimization and personal control have focused on violence by family members or acquaintances (McEwan et al 2005;Umberson, Anderson, Glick, and Shapiro 1998;Walker 2000). For instance, in a study by McEwan et al (2005), victims of acquaintance rape reported greater external locus of control than non-victims.…”

“…Many investigations of victimization and personal control have focused on violence by family members or acquaintances (McEwan et al 2005;Umberson, Anderson, Glick, and Shapiro 1998;Walker 2000). For instance, in a study by McEwan et al (2005), victims of acquaintance rape reported greater external locus of control than non-victims. However, these effects may not hold true for victimization by non-acquaintances: Kamphius and Emmelkamp (1998) noted that bank employees who had experienced a robbery or who worked in areas with frequent robberies did not differ significantly from non-victims in their locus of control.…”

Social Information Processing Mechanisms and Victimization

“…However, this review indicates that there may be variations in associations across ages. Although associations were found between interpretation of cues and general self-efficacy on one hand and victimization on the other hand among youth (Bender et al, 2010; Fredstrom et al, 2011; Miller et al, 1995; Walsh & Foshee, 1998), no association was found among adults (McEwan, De Man, & Simpson-Housley, 2005; Mikkelsen & Einarsen, 2002). Possibly, among people of a younger age, SIP mechanisms may be more variable or likely to be influenced, while older people may have more fixed patterns of SIP based on a greater amount of former experiences.…”