Sexual assault and alcohol consumption: what do we know about their relationship and what types of research are still needed? (original) (raw)
Related papers
How Does Alcohol Contribute to Sexual Assault? Explanations from Laboratory and Survey Data
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2002
This article summarizes the proceedings of a symposium of the 2001 RSA Meeting in Montreal, Canada. The chair was Antonia Abbey and the organizers were Tina Zawacki and Philip O. Buck. There were four presentations and a discussant. The first presentation was made by Maria Testa whose interviews with sexual assault victims suggest that there may be differences in the characteristics of sexual assaults in which both the victim and perpetrator were using substances as compared to when only the perpetrator was using substances. The second presentation was made by Tina Zawacki whose research found that perpetrators of sexual assaults that involved alcohol were in most ways similar to perpetrators of sexual assaults that did not involve alcohol, although they differed on impulsivity and several alcohol measures. The third presentation was made by Kathleen Parks who described how alcohol consumption affected women's responses to a male confederate's behavior in a simulated bar setting. The fourth presentation was made by Jeanette Norris who found that alcohol and expectancies affected men's self-reported likelihood of acting like a hypothetical sexually aggressive man. Susan E. Martin discussed the implications of these studies and made suggestions for future research.
The role of victim and perpetrator intoxication on sexual assault outcomes
Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 2004
The high coincidence of substance use and sexual assault among young people has led many to investigate potential causal mechanisms underlying this relationship. Cognitive impairment due to alcohol consumption, for example, may reduce women's ability to recognize sexual aggression risk (Norris et al., 1996; Testa et al., 2000). Motor impairment resulting from alcohol consumption may also reduce women's ability to resist unwanted advances effectively (Harrington and Leitenberg, 1994). In incidents of sexual assault, victim alcohol consumption at the time of assault is positively associated with rape completion (Abbey et al., 2003; Ullman et al., 1999a,b). Victim pre-assault substance use, on the other hand, is negatively associated with perpetrator aggression, victim resistance and victim injury (Abbey et al., 2002; Ullman et al., 1999b), suggesting that when a woman is intoxicated, rape may be completed with a minimum of force or struggle. Sexual assaults that include substance use are more likely to involve perpetrators who are not intimately acquainted
Violence Against Women, 2018
Little is known about the attributes of men who sexually assault drinking women as compared with men who sexually assault sober women and nonperpetrators. Findings from a cross-sectional survey of 548 men and a laboratory computer-simulated date completed by a subset ( n = 87) support the hypothesis that both groups of perpetrators would share some common risk factors and differ regarding alcohol beliefs and consumption. Men who had previously assaulted a drinking woman gave their simulated date more alcohol to drink and perceived her as being more disinhibited. These findings demonstrate the power of alcohol expectancies and stereotypes about drinking women.
ALCOHOL AND THE RISK OF PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMIZATION*
Criminology, 2004
ABSTRACT We examine the effect of alcohol consumption on an individual's risk of victimization for physical and sexual assault. Analyses of the National Violence Against Women Survey suggest that the frequency and amount of alcohol people consume has strong effects on their risk of victimization when drinking, but is not associated with their victimization while sober. This evidence suggests that drinking has a situational causal effect on victimization, and cannot be attributed to opportunity factors associated with drinking. This effect is particularly strong for men and young adults, who may be more likely to behave provocatively when under the influence. Victims of sexual assaults and men assaulted by their female partners are also particularly likely to be drinking.
The role of women's alcohol consumption in sexual victimization
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 1996
sum_ption may contribute to sexual assault, for example, by leading to cognitive impairment on the part of the woman or by influencing the perceptions of potential male perpetrators. The literature suggests that alcohol and sexual victimization are linked, however, the specific mechanism by which they are associated and the strength of the relationship remain unclear. Good quality survey and laboratory research that employs prospective and withinsubject designs would greatly increase our understanding of alcohol's role in sexual assault. Such methodologically sound studies will be extremely important for informing development of prevention and education programs for both females and males.
2018
Research has linked alcohol to violence and sexual assault, especially within the college student population. Most of this research focuses on the effects of alcohol on victims or perpetrators of sexual assault and not on bystanders of such situations. This study examines how self-reported drinking behavior affects students’ ability to recognize risk of sexual assault in written scenarios and the various barriers that would inhibit their willingness to intervene. A sample of 275 students (183 female, 92 male) were asked to read one of three scenarios and respond to a brief questionnaire adapted from Burn’s (2009) Barriers to Bystander Intervention Questionnaire. Participants also reported their alcohol consumption and drinking behavior using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). Participants who reported riskier levels of drinking behavior were less likely to agree that they could identify risk within the scenarios and that they were less likely to notice this type o...
Under the influence? Considering the role of alcohol and sexual assault in social contexts
2014
Alcohol is a feature in a high proportion of sexual assaults. It appears that alcohol has a multi-faceted role in facilitating sexual assault. There are social and gender issues around alcohol consumption that perpetrators are able to exploit to their advantage. Alcohol is used as a tool by perpetrators to increase victim vulnerability and enhance their own confidence. Alcohol is used as an excuse by perpetrators to reduce their culpability and accountability. Alcohol may be consumed voluntarily by victims or perpetrators may coerce consumption or covertly administer alcohol. Alcohol on its own is not a causative factor for sexual assault but it acts together with social and cultural factors that influence behaviour in relation to social scripts and sexual interactions. KEY MESSAGES Alcohol has a culturally accepted place in social situations, particularly when young people congregate, however, it is also widely acknowledged that alcohol is often present in many sexual assaults that occur within these social contexts. Although there is extensive research on the link between alcohol and sexual assault, there is still a lack of clarity about the exact role that alcohol plays in facilitating this type of sexual violence. Perpetrators are able to use alcohol to their advantage in a number of ways. Clearly, alcohol is not a causative factor on its own, as many people drink without perpetrating violence. It seems most likely that alcohol acts in multiple ways and interacts with a range of social and individual factors to influence the perpetration of sexual assault. 2 | Australian Institute of Family Studies ACSSA Issues are peer-review publications.
Violence against women, 2015
Sexual assault in the United States is an important public health concern. Using prospective longitudinal methods and responses from 217 community men, we examined whether background characteristics predicted subsequent sexual aggression (SA) perpetration during a 3-month follow-up period. We also examined event-specific characteristics of reported SA occurrences. Consistent with predictions, SA perpetration history, aggressive and impulsive personality traits, rape myth attitudes, and alcohol expectancies predicted SA (both non- and alcohol-involved) at follow-up. In addition, alcohol-involved assaults occurred more often with casual (vs. steady) partners but were more likely to involve condom use with casual (vs. steady) partners. Results suggest important avenues for future research and SA prevention efforts.