Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T06:47:01.918Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Sexual Aggression Against Women by Men Acquaintances: Attitudes and Experiences among Spanish University Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2014

Eric Sipsma*
Affiliation:
University of Amsterdam
José-Antonio Carrobles Isabel*
Affiliation:
Autonomous University of Madrid
Ignacio Montorio Cerrato
Affiliation:
Autonomous University of Madrid
Walter Everaerd
Affiliation:
University of Amsterdam
*
Correspondence to the first author should be addressed to the Rutgers Stichting, Business Unit Education & Training, P.O. Box 9663, 3506 GR, Utrecht, The, Netherlands.
Address correspondence to the second author at the Departamento de Psicología, Sección de Psicobiología y Psicología de la Salud.Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Ciudad Universitaria Canto Blanco. 28049 Madrid (Spain).

Abstract

Extensive prior research has indicated that sexual assault is highly prevalent among American college students. The purpose of this study was to assess Spanish students' attitudes about forced sex and actual experiences with male-against-female sexual aggression (SA) at a major university campus. A date-rape story was presented whereupon students (N = 412) indicated the extent to which they thought forced sex was acceptable or unacceptable in ten hypothetical situations (Giarusso, Johnson, Goodchilds, & Zellman, 1979). A second section examined whether a female or male Spanish student had experienced or engaged in a broad range of coercive sexual activities (Koss & Oros, 1982). A third section elicited help-seeking behavior in those cases where a female student had experienced unwanted sexual activity (Ogletree, 1993). It was hypothesized that students would differ in their acceptance of forced sex as a function of sex, branch and year of study, and actual experience with SA. Results showed that acceptance of forced sex was significantly related to sex, year of study and experience with SA. Results also revealed that 17.5% of all male students (n = 189) accepted forced sex and 33.2% of all female students (n = 223) had experienced some form of unwanted sexual activity; 7.7% of the women had experienced attempted or completed rape. Only 39% of those women victimized sought any form of help. The implications of these findings for rape-prevention programs are discussed.

Tal y como han mostrado investigaciones previas, la agresión sexual es muy común entre los estudiantes universitarios estadounidenses. El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar tanto las actitudes de los estudiantes españoles hacia el sexo forzado como las experiencias reales de agresión sexual (AS) de los varones hacia las mujeres dentro del campus universitario. En una primera sesión, a los estudiantes (N = 412), se les presentaban diez situaciones hipotéticas de violación. Los participantes debían indicar hasta qué punto el sexo forzado les resultaba aceptable o inaceptable (Giarusso, Johnson, Goodchilds y Zellman, 1979). En una segunda sesión se pedía a varones y mujeres que indicasen si habían tenido experiencias o participado en actividades sexuales forzadas (Koss y Oros, 1982). También se investigó el comportamiento de búsqueda de ayuda de las alumnas en el caso de haber tenido una experiencia sexual no deseada (Ogletree, 1993). La hipótesis establecía que habría diferencias significativas en el grado de aceptación del sexo forzado en función del sexo, de la carrera, del curso y de las experiencias reales de AS. Los resultados revelaron que la aceptación del sexo forzado se relacionaba significativamente con el sexo, el curso y la experiencia con AS. Los resultados también mostraron que el 17.5% de los varones (n = 189) aceptan el sexo forzado y el 33.2% de las alumnas (n = 223) han tenido alguna forma de actividad sexual no deseada. El 7.7% de las mujeres han vivido un intento de violación o una violación. Solamente el 39% de las víctimas buscó algún tipo de ayuda. Por último, se comentan las implicaciones de estos resultados para la elaboración de programas preventivos de violación.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbey, A. (1991). Acquaintance rape and alcohol consumption on college campuses: How are they linked? Journal of American College Health, 39, 165169.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aizenman, M., & Kelley, G. (1988). The incidence of violence and acquaintance rape in dating relationships among college men and women. Journal of College Student Development, 29, 305311.Google Scholar
Benson, D., Charlton, C., & Goodhart, F. (1992). Acquaintance rape on campus: A literature review. Journal of American CollegeHealth, 40, 157165.Google ScholarPubMed
Berkowitz, A.B. (1992). College men as perpetrators of acquaintance rape and sexual assault: A review of recent research. Journal of American College Health, 40, 175181.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burgess, A.W., & Holmstrom, L.L. (1974). Rape trauma syndrome. American Journal of Psychiatry, 131, 981986.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burt, M.R. (1980). Cultural myths and support for rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 217230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Check, V., & Malamuth, N.M. (1983). Sex role stereotyping and reactions to depictions of stranger versus acquaintance rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 344356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, T.C., Peck, G.Q., & Storment, J.M. (1993). Acquaintance rape and the high-school student. Journal of Adolescent Health, 14, 220224.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dull, R.T., & Giacopassi, D.J. (1987). Demographic correlates of sexual and dating attitudes. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 14, 175193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, G.M. (1994). Acquaintance rape. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 30, 1116.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fischer, G.J. (1986). College student attitudes toward date rap. I: Cognitive predictors. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 15, 457466.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fischer, G.J., & Chen, J. (1994). The Attitudes toward Forcible Date Rape Scale: Development of a measurement model. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 16, 3351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frinter, M.P., & Rubinson, L. (1993). Acquaintance rape: The influence of alcohol, fraternity membership and sports team membership. Journal of Sex Education and Therapy, 19, 272284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giarusso, R., Johnson, P.B., Goodchilds, J.D., & Zellman, G. (1979). Adolescent cues and signals: Sex and assault. Paper presented at meetings of the Western Psychological Association, San Diego, CA.Google Scholar
Goodchilds, J.D., Zellman, G., Johnson, P.B., & Giarusso, R. (1988). Adolescents and their perceptions of sexual interaction outcomes. In Burgess, A.W. (Ed.), Rape and Sexual Assault II (pp. 245270). New York: Garland.Google Scholar
Gross, A.E. (1978). The male role and heterosexual behavior. Journal of Social Issues, 34, 87107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koss, M.P. (1988). Hidden Rape: Sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample in higher education. In Burgess, A.W. (Ed.), Rape and Sexual Assault II (pp. 325). New York: Garland.Google Scholar
Koss, M.P., Dinero, T.E., Seibel, C.A., & Cox, S.L. (1988). Stranger and acquaintance rape: Are there differences in the victim's experience? Psychology of Women Quarterly, 12, 112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koss, M.P., & Gidycz, C.A. (1985). Sexual Experiences Survey: Reliability and validity. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 422423.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koss, M.P., Gidycz, C.A., & Wisniewski, N. (1987).The scope of rape: Incidence and prevalence of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of higher education students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 162170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koss, M.P., Leonard, K.E., Beezley, D.A., & Oros, C.J. (1985). Nonstranger sexual aggression: A discriminant analysis of the psychological characteristics of undetected offenders. Sex Roles, 12, 981992.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koss, M.P., & Oros, C.J. (1982). Sexual Experiences Survey: A research instrument investigating sexual aggression and victimization. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50, 455457.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
LaPlante, M.N., McCormick, N., & Brannigan, G.G. (1980). Living the sexual script: College students' views of influence in sexual encounters. The Journal of Sex Research, 16, 338355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lundberg-Love, P., Geffner, R. (1989). Date rape: Prevalence, risk factors and a proposed model. In Pirog-Good, M.A. & Stets, J.E. (Eds.), Violence in dating relationships: Emerging social issues (pp.135148). New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Malamuth, N.M. (1981). Rape proclivity among males. Journal of Social Issues, 37, 138157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malamuth, N.M. (1983). Factors associated with rape as predictors of laboratory aggression against women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 432442.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Margolin, L., Miller, M., & Moran, P.B. (1989). When a kiss is not just a kiss: Relating violations of consent in kissing to rape myth acceptance. Sex Roles, 20, 231243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muehlenhard, C.L., Friedman, D.E., & Thomas, C.M. (1985). Is date rape justifiable? The effects of dating activity, who initiated, who paid, and men's attitudes towards women. Psychology Women Quarterly, 9, 297310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muehlenhard, C.L., & Hollabaugh, L.C. (1988). Do women sometimes say no when they mean yes? The prevalence and correlates of women's token resistance to sex. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54,872879.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Muehlenhard, C.L., & McFall, R.M. (1981). Dating initiation from a woman's perspective. Behavior Therapy, 12, 682691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ogletree, R.J. (1993). Sexual coercion experience and help-seekingbehavior of college women. Journal of American College Health, 41, 149153.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peplau, L.A., Rubin, Z., & Hill, C.T. (1977). Sexual intimacy in dating relationships. Journal of Social Issues, 3, 86109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, S.A., & Franzese, B. (1987). Correlates of college men's sexual abuse of women. Journal of College Student Development, 28, 223228.Google Scholar
Quackenbush, R. (1991). Attitudes of college men's toward women and rape. Journal of College Student Development, 32, 376377.Google Scholar
Rabkin, J.G. (1979). The epidemiology of forcible rape. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 49, 634647.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rapaport, K., & Burkhart, B. (1984). Personality and attitudinal characteristics of sexually coercive college males. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 93, 216221.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Resick, P.A., Calhoun, K.S., Atkeson, B.M., & Ellis, E.M. (1981). Social adjustment in victims of sexual assault. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49, 705712.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Russell, D.E.H. (1984). Sexual exploitation: Rape, child sexual abuse, and workplace harassment. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Shotland, R.L. (1992). A model of the causes of date rape in developing and close relationships. Review of Personality and Social Psychology, 10, 247270.Google Scholar
Warshaw, R. (1988). I never called it rape: The Ms. report on recognizing, fighting, and surviving date rape and acquaintance rape. New York: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Weis, K., & Borges, S.S. (1973). Victimology and rape: The case of the legitimate victim. Issues in Criminology, 8, 71115.Google Scholar
Wilson, W., & Durrenberger, R. (1982). Comparison of rape and attempted rape victims. Psychiatrical Reports, 50, 198207.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yegdis, B.L. (1986). Date rape and other forced sexual encounters among college students. Journal of Sex Education Therapy, 12, 5154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar