Date rape and sexual aggression in dating situations: Incidence and risk factors.

Abstract

It has been argued that rape is a consequence of the power disparity between women and men (Russell, 1975). In dating situations, the age differences between the couple, who initi-186 This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

Nudity as a Disinhibiting Cue in a Date Rape Analogue

“…Sexually aggressive men hold more traditional values and attitudes toward gender roles and sexual relationships with women compared to sexually nonaggressive men (Abbey, McAuslen, & Ross, 1998;Koss & Dinero, 1989;Malamuth, Linz, Heavy, Barnes, & Acker, 1995;Malamuth, Sockloskie, Koss, & Tanaka, 1991;Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987). Sexually aggressive men hold dominating and hostile attitudes toward women, exhibit angry dispositions, and are generally more accepting of both sexual and nonsexual violence against women (Abbey et al, 1998;Abbey & McAuslan, 2004;Bernat, Calhoun, & Adams, 1999;Bernat, Wilson, & Calhoun, 1999;Kanin, 1967Kanin, , 1985Koss & Dinero, 1989;Malamuth et al, 1991Malamuth et al, , 1995Senn, Desmarais, Verberg, & Wood, 2000).…”

“…Calloused and adversarial sexual beliefs are strongly correlated with past and future proclivity for sexually aggressive behaviour, as are accepting attitudes of rape myths, hypermasculinity, and general antisocial tendencies Bernat, Wilson et al, 1999;Koss & Dinero, 1989;Malamuth, 1989aMalamuth, , 1989bMarx & Gross, 1995;Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987;Senn et al, 2000). Dean and Malamuth (1997) posited that sexual aggressors lack empathy, while Abbey and…”

“…and 24 (Calhoun, Bernat, Clum, & Frame, 1997;Kanin, 1957;Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987;Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987). In one national study of college students, one in 13 men admitted to having used force to obtain sexual intercourse, and as many as one in four men admitted to having used less overt means, such as verbal pressure or alcohol (Koss, 1992).…”

“…With a quarter of youth between the ages of 16 and 25 attending school, sexual aggression is a common occurrence on college and university campuses. It is an age when most men and women are actively engaging in dating and mate-seeking behaviour so it is not entirely surprising that sexual aggression often occurs within the context of dating, a context otherwise known as date rape (Koss, 1985;Koss & Dinero, 1989;Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987). Date rape is the use of force, intimidation, or a position of authority to impose one's sexual will on a nonconsenting person in a dating relationship, be it on a casual or first date or within an ongoing established relationship.…”

“…Again and again, the stories of date rape victims reveals commonalities across time and place (Abbey, Ross, McDuffie, & McAuslan, 1996;Muehlenhard, Friedman, & Thomas, 1985;Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987). A typical date rape situation may be described as follows: A young man and a young woman are on a date.…”