Attribution of blame in rape cases: A review of the impact of rape myth acceptance,gender role conformity and substance use on victim blaming

This article reviews research literature examining the effects of key factors that influence individual's attitudes towards victims of rape. The impact of rape myths, gender roles and substance use on attributions of blame in cases of rape are discussed. The phenomenon of victim-blaming within such cases is explored with reference to the attribution theory to help explain why rape victims are sometimes seen as deserving of their misfortune. Findings indicate that men demonstrate higher rape myth acceptance than women and attribute higher levels of blame to victims than women; women who violate traditional gender roles are attributed more blame than those women who do not; and women who consume alcohol prior to their attack are attributed higher levels of blame than those who are not intoxicated. The findings are discussed with reference to the implications for the Criminal Justice System and future interventions for both victims and perpetrators of rape.     

Gender,gender identity,rape myth acceptance,and time of initial resistance on the perception of acquaintance rape blame and avoidability

This study, including female (n = 355) and male (n = 179) college students, investigated the role of gender, gender role identity, rape myth acceptance, and time of initial resistance in assigning blame to the victim, perpetrator, situation and chance following an acquaintance rape, and perceived degree of avoidability of the assault. Approximately 94% of the participants were White. Men and women low in rape myth acceptance attributed significantly less blame to the victim and situation, more blame to the perpetrator, and were less likely to believe the assault could have been avoided. When time of initial resistance occurred early in the encounter, men and women attributed significantly less blame to the victim and situation, more blame to the perpetrator, and were less likely to believe the sexual assault could have been avoided.     

The impact of gender and sex-role orientation on responses to dissatisfaction in close relationships

Three studies were designed to examine the relationships among gender, sex role orientation, and responses to dissatisfaction in close relationships. Four ways of reacting to dissatisfaction were explored: (a) exit — ending or threatening to end the relationship; (b) voice — activity and constructively attempting to improve conditions; (c) loyalty — passively but optimistically waiting for conditions to improve; and (d) neglect — passively allowing conditions to deteriorate. Study 1 assessed generalized responses among university students; Study 2 assessed generalized responses among adults residing in the local community; and Study 3 assessed response tendencies among lesbian, gay male, and heterosexual women and men. Greater psychological femininity was consistently associated with greater tendencies to respond to relationship problems with voice and loyalty. However, there was little evidence of a link between level of femininity and tendencies to respond with exit and neglect. Greater psychological masculinity was associated with lesser tendencies toward voice and loyalty, and there was some evidence of a link between high psychological masculinity and tendencies toward exit and neglect. Gender was not consistently related to response tendencies, though there was very weak evidence that in comparison to females, males may be more likely to engage in exit and neglect responses.The authors wish to express their gratitude to Randall James, Chip Mainous, and Leisa Maxwell for their help in conducting these studies, and to the Gay and Lesbian University Students Organization for their help in conducting Study 3. We also thank Dr. David Lowery for useful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.     

The development of occupational sex-role stereotypes: The effects of gender stability and age

This study investigated occupational sex-role stereotypes of nursery school, kindergarten, third-grade, and sixth-grade children, and the effects of their acquiring gender constancy, specifically the concept of gender stability. Two types of occupational attitudes were assessed: (1) personal aspirations (PA) and (2) ideas about jobs men and women do. The latter were determined using the Occupations Survey (OS). Children chose stereotyped occupations for themselves even before they had a concept of gender stability. Boys' personal aspiration responses were more stereotyped than girls'. On the Occupations Survey, gender-stable nursery schoolers' responses were more stereotyped than those of the nonstable children; and a significant effect for age was found, with stereotyping decreasing among third graders and sixth graders. No sex differences were found on the OS. Differences in the two areas of occupational attitudes suggested two processes of learning sex roles. Social learning more readily accounts for the early stereotyped answers on the PA. Cognitive developmental theory is congruent with the OS scores of the nursery school children.     

Sexual preference, gender, and blame attributions in adolescent sexual assault

The study investigated the impact of victim sexual orientation, perpetrator gender, and participant gender on judgements toward a 15-year-old male victim of a depicted sexual assault. One hundred and eight-eight participants (97 male, 91 female) read a hypothetical scenario depicting the sexual assault of a 15-year-old male victim where the victim's sexual orientation and the perpetrator's gender were varied between subjects. Participants then completed a questionnaire assessing their attributions toward both the victim and the perpetrator. Results revealed that male participants blamed the victim more than female participants when the victim was both gay and attacked by a male perpetrator. All participants, regardless of gender, made more positive judgements toward the female as opposed to male perpetrator. Results are discussed in relation to gender role stereotypes and homophobia.     

Salience of rape affects self-esteem: The moderating role of gender and rape myth acceptance

In two experiments, conducted in Germany and the U.S.A., it was found that exposure to a rape report lowered self-esteem and positive affect in women who do not accept ‘rape myths’ (stereotypical beliefs which blame the victim and exonerate the rapist; Burt, 1980). Men high in rape myth acceptance (RMA) showed an increase in positive affect and self-esteem as a function of exposure to rape; men low in RMA and women high in RMA were largely unaffected. Both experiments demonstrated that these effects were specific to rape, as opposed to violence in general. These results support the feminist hypothesis that the threat of rape serves the function to exert social control over women and to sustain men's dominance. Potential cognitive mechanisms mediating the observed effects are discussed.     

Attribution of responsibility for rape: The influence of observer empathy,victim resistance,and victim attractiveness

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of a rape victim's physical attractiveness and resistance to rape on subjects' attributions of responsibility for the crime, certainty of the defendant's guilt, and social perceptions of the rape victim and defendant. Subjects' pretrial empathy toward rape victims and rapists was assessed by scores on the Rape Empathy Scale (RES). In addition to significant sex differences in attributions of responsibility for the incident, subjects' pretrial empathy toward rape victims and rapists was predictive of their perceptions of the rape victim, the defendant, and the rape incident. Victim resistance and attractiveness effects were significant in that subjects responded least favorably to the unattractive rape victim, particularly when she resisted the rape by fighting with her attacker. Male subjects and subjects who exhibited low empathy toward the rape victim were more responsive to subtle manipulations of victim resistance and attractiveness than were females and high RES subjects. Several explanations for these results focus on the cognitive and affective responses of subjects. The implications of the study are discussed in relation to societal attitudes toward rape and the role of sexrole stereotyping, which fosters these attitudes.The present research was supported by National Institutes of Health Biomedical Research Support Grant #5-SO7-RRO7127-09 and National Science Foundation Grant #SES-8012316 to Sheila R. Deitz. The authors express their appreciation to Nancy Williams, Joanne Moran, Bill Willging, David Small, David Waldman, and Robert Kingsley for their assistance in data collection and analysis.Correspondence should be sent to Sheila R. Deitz, now at Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy, University of Virginia, Box 100, Blue Ridge Hospital, Charlottesville, Virginia 22901. Copies of the Rape Empathy Scale and an extended report on the reliability and validity of scale are available from this author.     

Perceptions of stranger and acquaintance rape: the role of benevolent and hostile sexism in victim blame and rape proclivity

In Studies 1 and 2, after reading an acquaintance-rape but not a stranger-rape scenario, higher benevolent sexist but not hostile sexist participants blamed the victim significantly more. In Study 2, higher hostile sexist but not benevolent sexist male participants showed significantly greater proclivity to commit acquaintance (but not stranger) rape. Studies 3 and 4 supported the hypothesis that the effects of benevolent sexism and hostile sexism are mediated by different perceptions of the victim, as behaving inappropriately and as really wanting sex with the rapist. These findings show that benevolent sexism and hostile sexism underpin different assumptions about women that generate sexist reactions toward rape victims.     

Attribution of blame for criminal acts and its relationship with personality

This paper examines the relationship between some personality variables and attribution of blame by offenders for their criminal activity. A specially-designed ‘Blame Attribution Inventory’ was constructed and administered to 224 Ss who had committed ‘serious’ criminal acts. Factor analysis of the items revealed 3 independent factors: (1) ‘External’ Attribution (i.e. blaming the crime on social circumstances, victims, society); (2) ‘Mental-Element’ Attribution (i.e. blaming responsibility for the crime on mental illness, poor self-control, distorted perception); (3) ‘Guilt-Feeling’ Attribution (i.e. feelings of remorse, regrets, need for punishment). The inventory was administered to 40 offender patients who had completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), the Gough Socialization Scale (GSS) and the Beck Depression Inventory. External Attribution had significant correlation with the EPQ P scale, Mental-Element Attribution correlated significantly with the EPQ L scale and the GSS. Guilt-Feeling Attribution was associated with depression and neuroticism.     

The impact of competition on intrinsic motivation and creativity: considering gender, gender segregation and gender role orientation

The present research investigated whether competition influences children's artistic creativity and intrinsic motivation toward an art activity. Study 1 tested the hypothesis that boys' creativity would be enhanced by competition, while girls' creativity would be undermined. Fifty children (aged 6–10) made paper collages in one of two conditions; half competed for prizes and half did not. Results supported our hypotheses, and further showed that when children self-segregated by gender, the impact of competition was much more pronounced. Study 2 was designed to clarify the unexpected gender-segregation finding from Study 1. The Children's Sex Role Inventory [Boldizar, J.P. (1991). Assessing sex typing and androgyny in children: the Children's Sex Role Inventory. Developmental Psychology, 27, 505–515] was administered to 143 children (aged 6–11). One week later, these children made paper collages in one of four conditions; in addition to manipulating competition, assigned seating ensured that half of children were segregated by gender and half were not. Following the collage activity, an intrinsic and extrinsic motivation questionnaire was administered. Masculine children reported higher levels of intrinsic motivation when competing and when segregated by gender; they also reported higher levels of extrinsic motivation, especially when segregated by gender. These findings demonstrate that gender role is an important factor in determining children's responses to competition.     

Impulsiveness, attitude to authority, and gender.

This article examined the relationship between impulsiveness and attitudes toward institutional authority among Australian secondary school students. Reliable questionnaire measures of these constructs were completed by 48 boys and 57 girls, about 14 years of age. Correlations between impulsiveness and attitude to authority differed between the sexes, with a significant negative correlation of -.43 being obtained for boys only.     

Perception of sexual intent: The role of gender,alcohol consumption,and rape supportive attitudes

This study examined the effects of participant's gender, participant's rape supportive attitudes, and target's alcohol consumption on participant's perceptions of target's sexual intent. Female and male college students read vignettes in which a young woman and man who were socializing consumed either alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages. At the studied university, approximately 86% of undergraduates were Caucasian, 8% were African American, 3% were Asian, and 3% had other ethnic backgrounds. As hypothesized, men perceived female targets as behaving more sexually than did women, especially men high in rape myth acceptance. Male and female targets' alcohol consumption interacted, such that when both individuals were drinking alcohol they were perceived as being most sexual and their drinking was viewed as most appropriate. The rape myth acceptance and alcohol findings are discussed in terms of their implications for sexual assault and substance abuse prevention programming.Many thanks to Mary Jo Smith for assistance with data management and analyses. ARBOR staff provided assistance with data coding.     

Initial response to rape: The impact of factors within the rape situation

The relationship between specific aspects of the rape situation and immediate post-rape measures of depression, fear, anxiety, and social and interpersonal functioning in 50 recent victims of sexual assault was examined. The data failed to reveal any significant relationships between rape situation variables (e.g., stranger vs. known assailant, weapon vs. no weapon) and the nature or severity of the victims' psychological response. It is emphasized that this negative finding contradicts previous and current clinical lore, and has a number of implications for the assessment and treatment of rape victims.This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH#29692) to the first two authors.     

Late adolescents' perspectives on marital rape: the impact of gender and fraternity/sorority membership.

Although recent studies of marital rape have examined both victims' and perpetrators' social and psychological characteristics, little attention has been directed to the attitudes of others toward marital rape. Using a systematic sample of college students, this study examined attitudes toward marital rape--in particular, the impact of gender and fraternity/sorority membership on respondents' (1) views regarding marital rape compared to rape by a stranger; (2) feelings about possible actions a woman who is a victim of marital rape can take; and (3) attitudes toward legislation pertaining to marital rape. It was found that college women were significantly more likely than college men to say they strongly agree that marital rape and stranger rape should be treated as similar crimes. In addition, nonfraternity men were significantly more likely than fraternity men to indicate that they strongly approve of marital rape legislation and that husbands who perpetrate marital rape should be prosecuted. Sorority membership had little impact on women's responses.     

Sex, sex-role identification, and awareness of sex-role stereotypes

An experiment was run to determine if androgynous people have transcended traditional sex roles or merely incorporated both sex roles into their repertoire. Masculine sex-typed, feminine sex-typed, and androgynous people listed as many masculine and feminine stereotypes as they could think of in a time-limited task. Highly sex-typed individuals showed more awareness of their own sex's attributes than the other sex's stereotypes. Androgynous people showed greater awareness of both sexes' attributes as compared with sex-typed people, indicating support for the incorporation hypothesis rather than the transcendance hypothesis. However, the stereotypes androgynous people listed were somewhat less evaluative in tone compared with those of sex-typed people, Overall, subjects listed more stereotypes of females than males, and female stereotypes were more negative than male stereotypes.     

Construct validity of the relationship profile test: impact of gender, gender role, and gender role stereotype

Research supports the construct validity of the Relationship Profile Test (RPT; Bornstein & Languirand, 2003), a 30-item, self-report measure of destructive overdependence (DO), dysfunctional detachment (DD), and healthy dependency. In this investigation, we assessed the relationships of gender, gender role, and gender role stereotype ratings to RPT subscale scores. In Study 1, we replicated earlier patterns of gender differences in RPT scores, assessed cross-sample consistency in gender difference effect sizes, and provided preliminary nonclinical norms for the RPT subscales. Study 2 showed that--as expected--DO items are perceived as stereotypically feminine, whereas DD items are perceived as stereotypically masculine. In Study 3, we examined the relationships of RPT subscale scores to masculinity, femininity, and androgyny scores. We discuss the theoretical, empirical, and clinical implications of these findings.