Psychosexual Characteristics of Women Reporting Sexual Aggression Against Men

Abstract

Sexual aggression as committed by women has been the target of little empirical research and is still regarded as a myth by many people. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychosexual profile of young and educated women reporting sexual aggression against men. This is a cross-sectional study; a total of 260 female college students answered to an online survey. Among them, 93 (35.8%) reported having committed some form of sexual aggression against men: 46.2% of sexually aggressive women fell into the category of sexual coercion, 34.1% fell into the category of sexual abuse, and 19.8% reported having used physical force. Findings revealed that sexually aggressive women reported significantly higher levels of sociosexuality, sexual fantasies of dominance and submission, sexual compulsivity, sexual excitation, and sexual inhibition due to the threat of sexual performance failure. Data are expected to affect prevention strategies for a relevant yet understudied social concern.

<p>Spotlight on Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder: A Systematic Review of Research on Women</p>

“…The contribution of personality factors to ratings of CSB symptoms was examined in 10 studies. 77 , 103 - 110 …”

“…The contribution of personality factors to ratings of CSB symptoms was examined in 10 studies. 77,[103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110] In a study of Shimoni and colleagues, 103 81 women and 186 men were recruited via internet sites used for finding sexual partners. Results of this investigation showed that women (as compared to men) obtained lower scores on Sexual Addiction Screening Test (SAST), 111 they were less open to experiences and more neurotic (as assessed by the Big Five Index).…”

Predictors of Female Sexual Aggression Among a U.S. MTurk Sample: The Protective Role of Sexual Assertiveness

“…Similarly, Craig Shea (1998) documented that sexually coercive women experienced more sexual arousal and feelings of control and power in reaction to a description of a hypothetical rape of a man by a woman. In addition, Carvalho and Nobre (2016) garnered evidence that some women may use sexual aggression to cover up their anxiety over being judged on their sexual performance. Women's interest in sex as reflected by their use of erotica has also been correlated with FSA (Bouffard et al, 2016).…”

“…Another explanation of FSA is that it is engaged in by women who endorse sociosexuality, defined as uncommitted and emotionless casual sex (Simpson & Gangstad, 1991). Researchers found that sexually aggressive women from the United States (Shatzel-Murphy et al, 2009) and Portugal (Carvalho & Nobre, 2016) tended to score higher on sociosexuality. However, Yost and Zurbriggen (2006) and Parent et al (2018) did not find a direct relationship between women’s levels of sociosexuality and FSA.…”

Prevalence of Victimization and Perpetration of Sexual Aggression in Undergraduate Students: A Systematic Review 2008-2018

“…Rape: men 1.6 % and women 0.7 %.Other S. A. act (e.g. oral sex): men 2.7 % and women 0.used figures of sexual aggression in the university context range between 85.5 % and 0.4 % for sexual aggression victimization, and between 46.2 % to 0.5 % for perpetration of sexual aggression(7,18,21,31). Nevertheless, these figures in different studies are confusing since they use diverse classifications of sexual aggression that can be understood as rape or sexual coercion, an example of this is when the presented figure relates to an unwanted sexual relation, or a sexual relation under threat, or unwanted anal sex, among others(18,31,56).This can be considered as an estimate of the scope of the problem because there are factors that can influence the prevalence ranges of victimization and perpetration of sexual aggression reported by the studies included in the review.…”