Exploring the Underlying Constructs of Rape Cognition Scales and Their Relationships with Sexual Aggression

Abstract

Rape cognition is thought to play an important role in the initiation and maintenance of sexually aggressive behaviours (e.g., Beech et al.However, empirical evidence remains mixed regarding this relationship. One explanation for the discrepancy proposed by researchers (e.g., Hermann et al., 2012) is that rape cognition is merely an umbrella term that encompasses many distinct types of cognitions already prevalent in the social psychological literature (e.g., attitudes, beliefs, justifications, excuses). Self-report measures of rape cognition typically assume that there is one general construct to be assessed, without conclusive evidence to support this notion.This study attempted to replicate and extend past research by examining whether the Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, RAPE Scale, and Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance are assessing the same general construct or multiple distinct constructs by entering all items into one exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Complete scores on all three measures from 191 men from the community were entered into the EFA, which resulted in one interpretable factor, suggesting that these measures were assessing the same general construct of rape cognition. The factor was also significantly correlated with self-reported measures of past and future likelihood of sexual aggression (i.e., Sexual Experiences Survey -Tactics Version -Revised and the Proclivity -Sexual Experiences Survey -Tactics Version -Revised). This suggests that the general construct assessed by measures of rape cognition is related to sexually aggressive behaviours.Possible explanations for the current findings are discussed. EXPLORING THE UNDERLYING COGNITIVE CONSTRUCTSiii Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank my thesis supervisor, Dr. Kevin Nunes for the support, patience, time, and effort that he has invested in mentoring me throughout my Master's degree.He has provided invaluable guidance and experience with regards to how to manage research projects and present at academic conferences. I would like to thank him for teaching me and being patient with me through this learning process. He is an exceptional mentor. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to work with him over the last couple of years and I look forward to the productive years ahead! I would also like to thank Dr. Shelley Brown for her guidance, insight, constructive feedback, and for serving on my Master's thesis committee. Her feedback has truly strengthened my thesis research, and I am grateful for her input and support.