Profiles of emotion regulation strategies and intentions to perpetrate sexual assault (original) (raw)
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Extant literature supports a relationship between sexual arousal and increased likelihood of sexually coercive behavior in men. The present study investigated the impact of sexual arousal on sexual coercion proclivity and the degree to which emotion regulation moderated this relationship in the context of two separate affect inductions. We predicted that sexual arousal would more strongly predict sexual coercion likelihood for men scoring lower on emotion regulation ability compared to men with above average emotion regulation abilities. Male participants with (n = 38) and without (n = 40) self-reported histories of sexual coercion were recruited from urban sexually transmitted infection testing clinics. Participants completed a measure of emotion regulation, underwent a positive and negative affect induction, viewed an erotic video, and reported on their level of sexual arousal immediately prior to completing a hypothetical sexual coercion likelihood laboratory task. Relationships between emotion regulation, sexual arousal, and sexual coercion likelihood were examined using moderation analyses. Sexual arousal was associated with greater reported sexual coercion likelihood. For men with poorer emotion regulation, sexual arousal significantly and positively predicted sexual coercion likelihood in the positive affect condition. Sexual arousal did not significantly predict sexual coercion for men with above average emotion regulation. Findings may have implications for the assessment of individual risk for coercive sexual behavior as well as primary prevention efforts.
Affect and Sexual Responsivity in Men With and Without a History of Sexual Aggression
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Despite increased attention to understanding risk factors for sexual aggression, knowledge regarding the emotional and sexual arousal patterns of sexually aggressive men remains limited. The current study examined whether sexually aggressive men exhibit unique profiles of affective responsivity, in particular to negatively valenced stimuli, as well as sexual arousal patterns that differentiate them from nonaggressive men. We presented 78 young men (38 sexually aggressive; 40 nonaggressive) with a series of videos designed to induce positive, sad, or anxious affect. Affect and subjective sexual arousal were assessed following each film and erectile responses were measured continuously. Sexually aggressive men reported significantly higher levels of sexual arousal following both the positive and negative conditions as compared to nonaggressive men. Erectile responses of sexually aggressive men were significantly greater than nonaggressive men's following the positive affect induct...
The role of sexual arousal in sexually aggressive behavior: A meta-analysis
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1993
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Sexual Abuse: A Journal of …, 1996
The aim of the current study was to verify whether relationships exist in sexual aggressors between affective components (moods and emotions following conflicts) and sexual behaviors (fantasies and masturbatoty activities during such fantasies). We therefore developed the "Fantasy Report," a self-assessment method for recording affective components and sexual behaviors. Nineteen rapists, 12 heterosexual pedophiles, and 8 homosexual pedophiles filled out the Fantasy Report every 2 days for 2 months. In rapists and heterosexual pedophiles, negative moods and conflicts coincided ~th overwhelming deviant sexual fantasies and increased masturbatory activities during such fantasies. For the homosexual pedophiles, the data revealed a significant relationship only between affective components and deviant sexual fantasies. The emotions most frequen@ reported were anger, loneliness~ and humiliation by the rapists, loneliness and humiliation by the heterosexual pedophiles, and loneliness by the homosexual pedophiles. These data are discussed on the basis of the Relapse Prevention Model
Motivational factors in nonincarcerated sexually aggressive men
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1988
Research on convicted rapists has demonstrated the importance of several key motivational factors in male sexual aggression. In particular, anger at women and the need to dominate or control them have been repeatedly implicated. Although anger and power have also been shown to be important in understanding college men who report sexually aggressive behavior, there has been little research on what underlies these motives. This research combined questions assessing these underlying motivational factors, as well as questions dealing with underlying sexual motivation and disinhibition, with a slightly modified version of the Sexual Experiences Survey (Koss & Oros, 1982). In Study 1, subjects were 184 male undergraduates. Factor analysis of the questions composing the four scales yielded four slightly modified scales. Scales measuring underlying anger, underlying power, and disinhibition significantly differentiated sexually aggressive from nonaggressive men but did not distinguish between men who were coercive, manipulative, or nonaggressive. In a replication on a smaller sample (« = 70), underlying anger, underlying power, and disinhibition again differentiated sexually aggressive from nonaggressive men. The study of sexually aggressive men has only recently departed from an almost exclusive focus on incarcerated rapists. Increasingly, research has focused on the alarming prevalence of largely unreported acts of sexual victimization (e.g., Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987) and on identifying some of the factors that differentiate these hidden aggressors from nonsexually aggressive men (e.g.,
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The role of male sexual arousal in rape: Six models
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1991
This article examines men's sexual arousal to rape cues and its possible role in sexual assault. The article presents six different models that have been described in the literature to account for men's sexual arousal to descriptions of rape. The models are divided into two broad categories, response control models and stimulus control models, and are further divided into models postulating a "trait" that might distinguish rapists from other men and those postulating a "state" that might be present in men while they commit a sexual assault. A number of the models are supported by empirical data, and some of these data are reviewed. The article suggests that different models may be operating in different men when they commit sexual assault. These models are discussed in relation to the current literature on the classification and diagnosis of sexual offenders.
Rerick et al 2022 Let’s just do it: sexual arousal’s effects on attitudes regarding sexual consent
Journal of Social Psychology, 2022
Misperception of others’ sexual willingness or consent is widely considered to contribute to sexual coercion. Sexual arousal is commonly present among those in situations with potential to result in sexual assault. The current research tests the effects of sexual arousal on related attitudes: including those toward token resistance, assertive sexual strategies, and affirmative consent. Sexual arousal was primed through a narrative writing paradigm. Results indicate sexual arousal led all participants to be more likely to endorse belief in female token resistance, and led women to more strongly endorse men’s assertive sexual strategies. Implications for research on sexual consent are discussed.
Psychology of Violence, 2014
Objective: To examine the association between women's prior sexual victimization and their expression of anger in response to unwanted sexual advances. Method: Sixty-five female undergraduate students participated in role plays with male actors. During the role plays, which were conducted using virtual reality technology, the male actor made unwanted sexual advances toward the participant. Participants' expression of anger in response to these advances was coded and analyzed. Results: Women with a history of sexual victimization were observed to be less angry and used fewer anger words in response to initial unwanted sexual advances, compared with women with no history of sexual victimization. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential importance of women's expression of anger in response to unwanted sexual advances. Specifically, anger expression might be important to consider in understanding women's vulnerability to victimization and revictimization, and as an intervention target for programs designed to help women resist sexual violence. Finally, this study illustrates the potential benefits of a unique methodology-role plays conducted using virtual reality-for investigating women's responses to unwanted sexual advances.