Same-sex harassment: implications of the Oncale decision for forensic evaluation of plaintiffs

The US Supreme Court recently rendered an opinion in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. (1998), holding that same-sex sexual harassment of a male by another male provides a basis for a title VII hostile work environment claim. Social scientists have recently begun to research same-sex sexual harassment. The data indicate that men are the predominant targets of intra-gender sexual harassment, and that patterns of same-sex harassment differ from those of inter-gender harassment. The clinical research on male victims of sexual abuse suggests that symptom pictures for same-sex victims may differ from models based upon women's experience of hostile work environments. Implications for social science research and clinical practice are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sexual‐perception processes in acquaintance‐targeted sexual aggression

This study analyzes data from seven published studies to examine whether three performance‐based indices of men's misperception of women's sexual interest (MSI), derived from a self‐report questionnaire, are associated with sexual‐aggression history, rape‐supportive attitudes, sociosexuality, problem drinking, and self‐reported MSI. Almost 2000 undergraduate men judged the justifiability of a man's increasingly unwanted advances toward a woman on the Heterosocial Perception Survey‐Revised. Participants self‐reported any sexual‐aggression history, and some completed questionnaires assessing rape‐supportive attitudes, sociosexuality, problem drinking, and self‐reported MSI. A three‐parameter logistic function was fitted to participants’ justifiability ratings within a non‐linear mixed‐effects framework, which provided precise participant‐specific estimates of three sexual‐perception processes (baseline justifiability, bias, and sensitivity). Sexual‐aggression history and rape‐supportive attitudes predicted: (a) reduced sensitivity to women's affect; (b) more liberal biases, such that the woman's affect had to be more negative before justifiability ratings dropped substantially; and (c) greater baseline justifiability of continued advances after a positive response. Sexual‐aggression history and attitudes correlated more strongly with sensitivity than baseline justifiability; remaining variables showed the opposite pattern. This work underscores the role of sexual‐perception processes in sexual aggression and illustrates the derivation of performance‐based estimates of sexual‐perception processes from questionnaire responses.

     

Anxiety's role in aids prevention

Abstract

Anxiety's role in AIDS risk reduction is discussed. We argue that behavioral techniques will be critical tools for alerting people to the threat of AIDS and their own vulnerability. Informational models have not been found to be sufficient for convincing people of the extent of the threat of AIDS to them. We suggest that techniques aimed at raising people's anxiety over their vulnerability will be necessary to raise their motivation to attend to AIDS messages, and we present techniques aimed at increasing anxiety over vulnerability. Following acknowledgment of vulnerability, people will need to adopt or continue safer sex practices that are viewed as undesirable in contrast to unsafe sex practices that are viewed as less costly and less anxiety provoking. Given a clearer practical and theoretical understanding of the anxiety-producing costs of adopting safer sex behaviors, we present methods for reducing this anxiety. We also discuss the necessity for considering ethnic, minority, and other cultural nuances in social and sexual anxiety and how these might be addressed in efforts to increase safer sex practices.     

Bisexual Issues in Same-Sex Couple Therapy

SUMMARY

The bisexual identity of a partner in a same-sex couple may not be an issue in the relationship, or it may introduce fear, mistrust, and divisiveness. Mixed-orientation couples face problems stemming from the dichotomizing of sexuality, negative myths and stereotypes, and lack of awareness of models and resources. It can be particularly problematic when a partner's bisexuality is first addressed within a committed relationship. Case examples illuminate some of the issues. Therapeutic tasks include addressing the context of oppression, assessing developmental stages of sexual identity and the relationship, clarifying personal meanings of bisexuality, providing education and resources, and, possibly, facilitating negotiations regarding safer sex and polyamory. Optimal couple therapy provides affirmation of bisexuality, validation of same-sex relationships, and reflection of the partner's and relationship's strengths.     

Participant Perceptions of Relationship Education Programs Adapted for Same-Sex Couples

Mixed methods data were collected from 57 couples who participated in the Strengthening Same Sex Relationships (SSSR) Programs, relationship education programs adapted for same-sex couples. Quantitative and qualitative data yielded key themes, including high program satisfaction, appreciation that the program was designed specifically for same-sex couples, and requests for more detailed content addressing same-sex couples' unique needs. Participants expressed preferences for specialized programs for male or female same-sex couples. Women strongly preferred female sexual minority program leaders; men valued leader competency over match in gender or sexual orientation. Results can inform efforts to provide culturally sensitive relationship education to same-sex couples.     

Parental depression,parenting behaviours,and behaviour problems in young children

In the past, research has demonstrated that parental depression and parenting practices are related. More recently, there has been an increase in research examining child outcomes as they are related to maternal and paternal psychopathology. To continue with this line of research, this study examined the relationships among mothers' and fathers' symptoms of depression, characteristics of their parenting practices, and their ratings of their young children's internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems. The results of this study demonstrated that these variables are related significantly. Further, the results of this study suggested that mothers' parenting, particularly their limit setting with their young children, is an important predictor of their ratings of their young children's externalizing behaviour problems in the context of their own symptoms of depression. A different pattern of relationships may be present for fathers, as both their symptoms of depression and their parenting characteristics predicted their ratings of their young children's externalizing behaviour problems. Such findings were not supported for young children's internalizing behaviour problems. These findings suggested that interventions should have different targets for mothers and fathers. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gender,Age, and Rape-Supportive Rules

Social rules regarding sexual behavior indicate when sex may be desired, expected, or obligatory. Some of these rules legitimize a man's initiation of sex with a woman regardless of the woman's desires or intentions; such situations could potentially lead to rape. Middle school, high school, and university students completed a Rules About Sex Questionnaire on which they indicated the situations in which a man could assume a woman wants to have sex. The results indicated that girls and women endorsed fewer rules than did boys and men. University students endorsed the fewest rules, and middle school students endorsed the most rules. Endorsement of rules was associated with boys' and men's self-reported sexually coercive behavior and with beliefs about who should initiate sex. The findings may be useful in the design of sexual assault prevention programs for adolescents.     

Safer sex: Lessons from the male sex industry

Discerning the complex factors influencing male sex work is an important element of understanding HIV transmission. The present study examines a sample of London-based masseurs and street workers' ideas concerning their sexual encounters, their partners and their role in society. Unsafe sex is associated with (1) a lack of perception of control in the sexual encounter, (2) attractive clients, and (3) loving relationships with non-clients. The ways in which personal needs and stigma influence sexual practices and the men's sense of identity are considered. For some of the men, unsafe sex demarcates a sphere containing a type of intimacy that is absent from their working life. Since working life is associated with negative social judgements, the importance of this separate sphere is heightened. The findings call into question models of health behaviour that are built on individualist, reason-based tenets and highlight the importance of social and emotional factors in safer sexual behaviour. The implications of the findings for prevention programmes and future research are discussed.     

Men's memory for women's sexual‐interest and rejection cues

The current work characterizes young men's memory for young women's heterosocially relevant affective cues (e.g. sexual interest and rejection) and examines characteristics of both the woman being perceived and the male perceiver as predictors of memory. Undergraduate men (n = 232) completed similarity‐ratings and recognition‐memory tasks with photos of undergraduate women who varied in attractiveness, provocativeness of clothing and expression of sexual interest. Participants also completed a control memory task and a measure relevant to the risk of exhibiting sexually aggressive behaviour, as well as indicating how many serious relationships they had experienced. Multilevel regression techniques revealed that (a) men's memory for women's sexual interest improved when women were sexually interested at encoding, attractive and dressed provocatively; (b) men who reported more frequent serious relationships showed better memory for women's sexual interest and (c) men at risk of exhibiting sexually aggressive behaviour showed worse memory for women's sexual interest. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tyrannized Souls: Plato's Depiction of the ‘Tyrannical Man’

In book 9 of Plato's Republic, Socrates describes the nature and origins of the ‘tyrannical man’, whose soul is said to be ‘like’ a tyrannical city. In this paper, I examine the nature of the ‘government’ that exists within the tyrannical man's soul. I begin by demonstrating the inadequacy of three potentially attractive views sometimes found in the literature on Plato: the view that the tyrannical man's soul is ruled by his ‘lawless’ unnecessary appetites, the view that it is ruled by sexual desire, and the view that it is ruled by a lust for power. I then present my own account. On the view I defend, the tyrannical man's soul is to be understood as ruled by a single, persistent, powerful desire for bodily pleasure: as much as he can get, and however he can get it. Finally, I show how understanding the tyrannical man's soul in the way I recommend helps resolve some commonly expressed concerns about this part of the Republic. I suggest, on this basis, that Plato's procedure in constructing his catalogue of corrupt cities and souls in Republic 8 and 9 was more carefully thought out and systematic than has sometimes been supposed.     

Attachment,caregiving, and relationship functioning in couples: Effects of self and partner

We examined the links among attachment, caregiving, and relationship functioning in both dating (Study 1) and married couples (Study 2), assessing both partners' perspectives. We found that (1) men and women generally evidenced caregiving characteristics similar to those of their parent% especially their same-sex parent; (2) individuals who reported giving more care to their partner evidenced less fearful-avoidant attachment (Studies 1 and 2) and less preoccupation with attachment (Study 2); and (3) individuals' own attachment models and their partner's attachment models and caregiving jointly predicted relationship functioning, but individuals' own attachment models remained strong predictors even after the partner's attachment and caregiving were taken into account. The results suggest that caregiving learned in childhood attachment relationships may be carried forward into adult romantic relationships, and they support the idea that attachment and caregiving are central components of romantic love.     

male self-control and sexual aggression

This study examines judgments of male self-control regarding sexual aggression in dating situations. A survey was conducted using vignettes that described situations where a hypothetical man attempts to have intercourse with his female date, she resists, and he considers various ways of overcoming her resistance. Survey respondents judged these vignettes. The goals of the study were to estimate the prevalence of beliefs about low male self-control, and to examine how contextual information affects these assessments. Contrary to expectations derived from the literature, the large majority of respondents attributed high levels of self-control to men across a wide range of scenarios. As expected, the man's alcohol intoxication reduced perceived control. Against expectations, consensual foreplay and prior sex did not affect ratings. Implications for social learning and rational choice theories of sexual aggression are discussed, with particular emphasis on Ajzen's (1988) theory of planned behavior.     

Emergent leadership and female sex role identity.

The effects of female sex role identity on self- and rater evaluations of emergent leadership behavior were compared in two studies. We used the same consensus-seeking procedure in both studies to collect the data; only the biological sex composition of the groups in the second study was changed. Study 1 examined 15 mixed-sex groups of 39 female and 21 male students; Study 2 contained 96 female students in 22 same-sex groups. Sex role orientation was measured with the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI: Bem, 1974). Androgynous and feminine-oriented self-ratings of leadership were significantly higher than peer ratings and were also significantly higher than the undifferentiated self-ratings. The self-ratings of masculine-oriented women agreed most closely with peer ratings. Contrary to research and theory, peer evaluation of leadership behavior by sex role orientation did not differ.     

Perceived Influence of Male Sex Role Identity on Female Partner's Life Choices

The relationship between a man's sex role identity and his and his female partner's perceptions of his influence on her life choices was investigated in this study. Sex role identity was measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), and perception of influence was measured by the Interpersonal Influence Survey (IIS). The BSRI and IIS were administered by mail to 131 pairs of female graduate students and their male partners. Male and female perceptions of the man's influence were found to be related to the man's BSRI scores. Masculine men were not found to differ in their perceptions of influence from feminine or un-differentiated men, but they were found to have significantly lower perceptions of their influence than androgynous men. Feminine men were not found to differ in their perceptions of influence from masculine or undifferentiated men, but they were found to be lower in their perceptions of influence than androgynous men. Women with androgynous or feminine male partners perceived the man as being more influential than did female partners of masculine men, but they did not differ in their perceptions of male partner influence from women with undifferentiated male partners. Women with masculine or undifferentiated male partners did not differ in their perceptions of the male partner's influence.     

Emergent Leadership and Female Sex Role Identity

The effects of female sex role identity on self- and rater evaluations of emergent leadership behavior were compared in two studies. We used the same consensus-seeking procedure in both studies to collect the data; only the biological sex composition of the groups in the second study was changed. Study 1 examined 15 mixed-sex groups of 39 female and 21 male students; Study 2 contained 96 female students in 22 same-sex groups. Sex role orientation was measured with the Bern Sex Role Inventory (BSRI: Bem, 1974). Androgynous and feminine-oriented self-ratings of leadership were significantly higher than peer ratings and were also significantly higher than the undifferentiated self-ratings. The self-ratings of masculine-oriented women agreed most closely with peer ratings. Contrary to research and theory, peer evaluation of leadership behavior by sex role orientation did not differ.     

Accuracy and bias in newlywed spouses' perceptions of each other's personalities

This study investigated moderators of newlywed spouses' accuracy in judging each other's personality. Spouses in 154 predominantly Hispanic newlywed couples rated their own and their partners' personality traits. Full‐sample results showed significant associations between perceivers' and targets' personality ratings (“truth force”/“tracking accuracy”). Positive directional bias (perceivers' mean trait ratings of targets exceeding targets' self‐ratings) also was evident. Positive directional bias occurred when perceivers had little familiarity with their spouse prior to dating and when perceivers had high self‐esteem. Truth force/tracking accuracy increased with less time spent cohabiting and higher perceiver self‐esteem. Positive associations between perceivers' self‐esteem and ratings of partners on positively valenced traits were reduced when partners had had greater opportunities to observe one another's behaviors.     

College students' judgments regarding sexual aggression during a date

Effects of level of resistance and type of sexual behavior on judgments regarding sexual aggression on a date were studied. Participants were 138 female and 57 male college students who read one of six vignettes (three levels of resistance × two types of sexual behavior) describing a date in which unwanted sexual behavior occurred. Gender-neutral names (Chris and Pat) were used in the vignettes, and sex of aggressor and victim was not specified. Participants completed identical scales describing degree of disapproval of the aggressor's behavior from three different perspectives: their own viewpoint (Participant Rating), the victim's viewpoint (Victim Rating), and the aggressor's viewpoint (Aggressor Rating). Both Participant and Victim Ratings showed significant differences between levels of resistance, and significant but smaller differences due to participant gender. Participant ratings showed a significant but small difference between types of sexual behavior. The aggressor's overall behavior was labeled as date/acquaintance rape by 52.9% of participants for the vignette involving physical resistance and intercourse.     

Heterosexist discrimination and relational sacrifice of same-sex couples

Drawing on the family stress process model and using data from 141 same-sex couples (N = 282 partners), we examined associations between heterosexist discrimination and relational sacrifices (i.e., willingness and behaviors). We also examined the moderating roles of both partners' internalized homophobia and state-level liberalism on same-sex marriage legalization. Actor-partner interdependence moderation models were conducted. Most of our findings supported hypotheses from the family stress process model. One individual's experiences of greater heterosexist discrimination were related to the partner's higher levels of sacrifice willingness and the individual's own higher frequency of sacrifice behaviors. Such associations emerged (a) among couples living in more liberal states that legalized same-sex marriage earlier, and (b) when the individual's partner reported lower levels of internalized homophobia. Yet the moderating role of an individual's internalized homophobia was the opposite of our hypothesis. When individuals reported high (versus low) internalized homophobia, individuals' experiences of more discriminative events were related to partners' higher levels of sacrifice willingness. Collectively, our study findings highlight that—when investigating how same-sex couples forge and maintain romantic bonds—researchers should consider their experiences in the social cultural context of heteronormativity, which includes the focus on discrimination, stigma, and affirmative laws and policies.