Rape Myth Acceptance Among College Students in the United States, Japan, and India

Abstract

Rape myth acceptance is an important determinant of sexual assault behaviors. This study explored country and gender differences in rape myth acceptance among undergraduate students in the United States, Japan, and India. Male and female college students (N = 637) in these three countries participated in a self-administered survey in the fall of 2012 (the United States, n = 206; Japan, n = 215; and India, n = 216). The order of the countries arranged in increasing order of likelihood of disbelieving rape claim was as follows: the United States, Japan, and India. U.S. and Japanese students were less likely to disbelieve rape claims (p < .01) while U.S. students also were less likely to believe that victims are responsible for rape (p < .01). Overall, female participants were less likely to believe in the rape myth acceptance, disbelief of rape claim and victims are responsible for rape (p < .05). Acceptance of rape myth also varied by whether a participant knew about an organization or who do not believe they would seek help for sexual assault. Non-help seeking is associated with rape myth acceptance. This study, which used the same survey and data collection methods, provides comparative information on rape myth acceptance among college students in the United States, Japan, and India, which is not otherwise available, and contributes to providing fundamental knowledge to develop country-specific prevention programs.

Rape Myths Among University Men and Women in Vietnam: A Qualitative Study

“…Although the construct of rape myths is universal, there is evidence that endorsement of its subconstructs may vary contextually (Sagrillo Scarpati, 2018), even within the same geographical region (Lefley et al, 1993). One comparative study of 637 university students in India, Japan, and the United States showed greater RMA among Indian and Japanese students, but with much larger differences across settings along the dimension of "victims responsible for rape" than that of "disbelief of rape claim" (Stephens et al, 2016). Studies have demonstrated consistently stronger endorsement of rape myths in Asian than non-Asian populations (Kennedy & Gorzalka, 2002;Koo et al, 2012;Mori et al, 1995;Stephens et al, 2016;Yamawaki & Tschanz, 2005).…”

“…One comparative study of 637 university students in India, Japan, and the United States showed greater RMA among Indian and Japanese students, but with much larger differences across settings along the dimension of "victims responsible for rape" than that of "disbelief of rape claim" (Stephens et al, 2016). Studies have demonstrated consistently stronger endorsement of rape myths in Asian than non-Asian populations (Kennedy & Gorzalka, 2002;Koo et al, 2012;Mori et al, 1995;Stephens et al, 2016;Yamawaki & Tschanz, 2005). Beliefs in rigid gender roles, negative attitudes toward women, and conservative attitudes toward sex serve as mediating factors in Asian (Uji et al, 2007;Xue et al, 2019;Yamawaki & Tschanz, 2005) and Asian American (Kennedy & Gorzalka, 2002;Koo et al, 2012;Mori et al, 1995) populations.…”

Mitos de violación, creencias que justifican la violencia sexual: una revisión sistemática

“…Los artículos analizados indican que el sexo es un fuerte predictor de la aceptación de los mitos de violación, siendo los hombres los que mayor puntuación obtienen en las distintas medidas aplicadas. Esta diferencia se mantiene en la gran mayoría de los estudios independiente de las características de la muestra (Beshers, 2019;Hayes et al, 2016;Manoussaki & Veitch, 2015;Rominski et al, 2016;Schulze & Koon-Magnin, 2017;Stephens et al, 2016;Worthen, 2017).…”

Rape Myth Acceptance in Contemporary Times: A Comparative Study of University Students in India and the United Kingdom

“…Furthermore, they find consistent support for gender differences in attitudes as men in all countries were more likely to endorse problematic attitudes compared with women. Similarly, a recent study involving 637 students from the United States, Japan, and India suggests that Indian students were most likely to endorse rape myths (Stephens et al, 2016). The overarching explanation of these studies is that gender roles, and more restrictive cultural norms found in non-Westernized cultures, may explain these negative attitudes about violence against women.…”