The relationship between sexual assault beliefs and understanding of consent
Disciplines
Social Psychology
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Interpersonal violence (IPV) is a concern for college students; however, the salient factors that contribute to these acts of violence are still largely unclear. Thus, this study focuses on how the prevalence of unwanted sexual advances relates to demographic variables, such as ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, and attitudes towards consent. As a part of a larger study, participants will complete a modified version of the short form victimization version of the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES-SFV). The 7-item survey includes questions that define acts of sexual assault. To each item, participants indicate how many times (if any) since age 17 they experienced the event, and by how many perpetrators. I predict that heterosexual males will report attitudes that consider consent as less important, thus corresponding to higher reports of IPV victimization by heterosexual females. Chi-square analyses will be conducted to compare the prevalence of unwanted sexual experiences between subgroups of demographic variables. Further, a multinomial regression will be conducted to examine attitudes towards consent and demographic variables as predictors of sexual assault. The preliminary analyses and their implications will be discussed.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - Psychological Science
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Corinne McNamara
Additional Faculty
Dorothy Marsil, Psychology, dmarsil@kennesaw.edu
The relationship between sexual assault beliefs and understanding of consent
Interpersonal violence (IPV) is a concern for college students; however, the salient factors that contribute to these acts of violence are still largely unclear. Thus, this study focuses on how the prevalence of unwanted sexual advances relates to demographic variables, such as ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, and attitudes towards consent. As a part of a larger study, participants will complete a modified version of the short form victimization version of the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES-SFV). The 7-item survey includes questions that define acts of sexual assault. To each item, participants indicate how many times (if any) since age 17 they experienced the event, and by how many perpetrators. I predict that heterosexual males will report attitudes that consider consent as less important, thus corresponding to higher reports of IPV victimization by heterosexual females. Chi-square analyses will be conducted to compare the prevalence of unwanted sexual experiences between subgroups of demographic variables. Further, a multinomial regression will be conducted to examine attitudes towards consent and demographic variables as predictors of sexual assault. The preliminary analyses and their implications will be discussed.