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Spanish Validation of the Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression Scale (AMMSA)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Jesús L. Megías ,
Mónica Romero-Sánchez ,
Mercedes Durán ,
Miguel Moya  and
Gerd Bohner
Jesús L. Megías*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Mónica Romero-Sánchez
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Mercedes Durán
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Miguel Moya
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Gerd Bohner
Affiliation:
Universität Bielefeld (Germany)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jesús L. Megías. Facultad de Psicología. Campus Cartuja 18071, Granada (Spain). Fax: +34-958246239. E-mail: jlmegias@ugr.es
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Abstract

Two studies were conducted with college students to validate the Spanish-language version of the “Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression” scale (AMMSA) (Gerger, Kley, Bohner & Siebler, 2007). This scale assesses modern myths about sexual aggression in a subtle way. In Study 1, 305 students completed the Spanish AMMSA and other scales with related content. In Study 2, 263 participants completed the Spanish AMMSA and answered questions about a hypothetical sexual assault perpetrated by a young man against a female acquaintance. The Spanish AMMSA showed high internal consistency and adequate evidence of validity in both studies. Compared to traditional scales of rape myth acceptance, mean scores on the AMMSA were higher and their distributions more closely approximated normality. These findings suggest that the Spanish version of the AMMSA scale is a useful instrument to study the social perception of sexual aggression.

Se realizaron dos estudios con estudiantes universitarios para validar la versión en español de la escala “Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression” (AMMSA) (Gerger, Kley, Bohner, & Siebler, 2007). Esta escala mide de manera sutil los mitos actuales sobre las agresiones sexuales. En el Estudio 1, 305 estudiantes completaron el AMMSA en español y otras escalas de contenido relacionado. En el Estudio 2, 263 participantes completaron el AMMSA en español y respondieron a preguntas acerca de un caso hipótetico de agresión sexual a una mujer joven, perpetrado por un hombre al que conocía. La escala AMMSA en español mostró alta consistencia interna y evidencia adecuada de validez en ambos estudios. Comparada con las escalas tradicionales de aceptación de mitos sobre la violación, las puntuaciones medias en el AMMSA fueron mayores y sus distribuciones se aproximaron más a la normalidad. Estos hallazgos sugieren que la versión en español de la escala AMMSA es un instrumento útil para estudiar la percepción social de las agresiones sexuales.

Keywords

sexual aggressionscalemythsvalidationrapeviolence against womenagresión sexualescalamitosvalidaciónviolaciónviolencia contra las mujeres
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , November 2011 , pp. 912 - 925
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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