Rape Myths and Hookup Culture: An Exploratory Study of U.S. College Students' Perceptions

The present study provides the first known systematic examination of the association of hookup culture endorsement and rape myth acceptance. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to test the primary hypothesis that hookup culture endorsement would be the primary predictor of rape myth acceptance levels among a sample of 422 U.S. college students. Findings indicated the existence of a complex relationship in which rape myth acceptance increases or decreases based upon the form of hookup culture endorsement examined. Beliefs that hookups are harmless and elevate social status increased rape myth acceptance, whereas beliefs that hookups express sexual freedom decreased rape myth acceptance. Furthermore, results supported the hypothesis that hookup culture endorsement was the largest predictor of rape myth acceptance. Consistent with previous studies, the predictive power of gender and religiosity in determining levels of rape myth acceptance were shown to be significant. When controlling for levels of hookup culture endorsement, the explanatory power of these variables decreased, and hookup culture endorsement had the largest effect upon rape myth acceptance levels.     

Rape Myth Acceptance among Social Work Students

It is important to examine rape myth acceptance and the pertinent situational factors that affect attitudes and beliefs concerning the act of rape, perpetrators, and survivors. This study examines the influence of alcohol consumption and perceptions of alcohol use on levels of rape myth acceptance among social work students. Results showed differences in levels of rape myth acceptance based on race or ethnicity and gender. Results also showed that the version of the vignette read by the participant was a significant predictor of rape myth acceptance. Respondents’ perceptions of alcohol consumption were also a strong predictor of rape myth acceptance levels. These results demonstrate there are multiple factors that influence social work students’ rape myth acceptance levels that need further examination.     

The Media’s Sexual Objectification of Women,Rape Myth Acceptance,and Interpersonal Violence

A new trend has emerged in print advertisements by which women’s bodies are literally morphed into objects. This study begins to explore this phenomenon by examining the effects of viewing these types of advertisements on attitudes toward rape and violence, as well as rape likelihood. In addition, this study examined the degree to which moral disengagement and dehumanization influences rape likelihood through rape myth acceptance. Three hundred eighty participants viewed 1 of 3 conditions—control, sexual objectification of women, or women as objects—and then filled out a number of questionnaires to assess their rape myth acceptance, acceptance of interpersonal violence, rape likelihood, and moral disengagement. Results indicated that although viewing sexually objectified women in advertising did not increase any of the dependent variables for individuals in the experimental conditions compared to the control condition, there was a main effect of sex for several dependent measures, as well as a full mediation of moral disengagement and rape likelihood by rape myth acceptance in male participants. These findings suggest that education aimed at correcting men’s endorsement of rape myths might be a key pathway to decreasing rape likelihood. Despite these conclusions, this study’s primary limitation was that it was conducted with collegiate participants with an unequal gender distribution.     

Objectification and System Justification Impact Rape Avoidance Behaviors

There is little recent research on women’s adoption of rape avoidance behaviors, and there has been no known investigation into how adoption of these behaviors relates to various system justification beliefs or experiences of sexual objectification. We surveyed 294 U.S. women aged 18 to 40 to assess experiences of objectification, belief in a just world, gender-specific system justification, benevolent sexism, rape myth acceptance, and engagement in rape avoidance behaviors. Belief in a just world, gender-specific system justification, and benevolent sexism were conceptualized and analyzed as a “system justification” latent factor due to similarities between constructs regarding how they influence worldview, particularly regarding fairness and relations between dominant and subordinate groups. Our hypothesized model had good fit to the data and illustrated that experiencing objectification was related to increased rape myth acceptance and system justification, which, in turn, were related to implementation of rape avoidance behaviors. Further, system justification was significantly positively related to rape myth acceptance. Results show the continued importance of understanding the role of objectification in the endorsement of rape myths and assessments of societal fairness, as well as how women’s attitudes about society may ultimately affect their assessment of rape myths and their personal behavior. This research provides new information and groundwork for researchers developing rape education programming in addition to those interested in the complex relationship between women’s experiences and behavioral outcomes.     

A BLACK FEMINIST MODEL OF RAPE MYTH ACCEPTANCE

A Black feminist model was used to investigate rape myth acceptance between African American antirape activists and a comparison group of nonactivists using Cross's (1991) racial identity model and Downing and Roush's (1985) feminist identity model. As predicted, activists rejected rape myths more than nonactivists; the earlier stages of both models were associated with rape myth acceptance; the later stages were associated with rape myth rejection; and activists evidenced more sociopolitical maturity (race and gender consciousness) than nonactivists. The findings suggest that researchers may need to investigate to what degree rape myth acceptance serves an overarching system of social domination where racism and sexism overlap.     

How Ambivalent Sexism Toward Women and Men Support Rape Myth Acceptance

The goal of this study was to determine how ambivalent sexism toward women and men are both associated with rape myth acceptance. The Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance scale, Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, and Ambivalence toward Men Inventory were completed by 409 participants. Hostile sexism toward women positively correlated with rape myth acceptance. For benevolent sexism toward women, complementary gender differentiation was positively associated with rape myth acceptance whereas protective paternalism was negatively associated. Benevolent sexism toward men, but not hostile sexism, positively correlated with rape myth acceptance. Further, for female participants higher maternalism toward men corresponded with higher rape myth acceptance. These findings suggest that sexist beliefs toward both women and men are important for understanding the support of rape myths.     

Religiosity,Intolerant Attitudes,and Domestic Violence Myth Acceptance

The latent construct of religiosity comprised measures of external, internal, and quest religiosity and was examined in relation to the latent construct of intolerant attitudes in a sample of undergraduate and graduate students at a Christian-affiliated university. The latent construct of intolerance included the indicators of rape and domestic violence myth acceptance, social dominance, dogmatism, and negative attitudes toward women. Multivariate results revealed significant negative correlations between internal and quest religiosity and indicators of intolerant attitudes, including the interpersonal violence myth acceptance scales. Quest religiosity also demonstrated unique univariate quadratic effects with both rape myth acceptance and domestic violence myth acceptance. Moderate levels of questing were associated with highest levels of interpersonal violence myth acceptance. Implications for the existing literature are discussed within the framework of a relational conceptualization of religiosity.     

Masculinity,Femininity, Sexual Dysfunctional Beliefs,and Rape Myth Acceptance Among Heterosexual College Men and Women

Previous research has found links between masculinity, femininity, cognition, and rape myth acceptance. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether sexual dysfunctional beliefs—beliefs about sexuality and gender roles that have been linked to sexual disorders—explain variance in rape myth acceptance beyond that explained by an individual’s masculinity or femininity. Heterosexual college men and women in the U.S. (N = 840) completed a survey online. We found that, among men, masculinity was not associated with rape myth acceptance but that male sexual dysfunctional beliefs were positively associated with rape myth acceptance. Among women, femininity was negatively associated with rape myth acceptance but female sexual dysfunctional beliefs were positively associated with rape myth acceptance. These results suggest that, among both men and women, sexual dysfunctional beliefs are better predictors of rape myth acceptance than masculinity and femininity.     

Rape myth acceptance: A case for providing educational expert testimony in rape jury trials

The prevalence and content of rape myth acceptance indicate a need for educational expert testimony in rape jury trials. It is proposed that expert testimony regarding common misconceptions about rape and rape victim behavior, conceptualized in terms of a social framework, would help to compensate for societal bias against the complainant in a rape trial. Rape trauma syndrome, eyewitness identification, and general educational testimony concerning rape are discussed. Evidence is presented that suggests inclusion of such testimony serves the purpose of expert testimony according to the Federal Rules of Evidence.     

Victim and Observer Characteristics as Determinants of Responsibility Attributions to Victims of Rape1

Two field studies were conducted to investigate the influence of observer and victim characteristics on attributions of victim and assailant responsibility in a rape case. In the first study, male and female subjects completed a measure of rape myth acceptance and were presented with a rape account after which they were asked to attribute responsibility to victim and assailant. In the second study, a new sample was asked to attribute responsibility to victim and assailant on the basis of one of two rape accounts in which victim's pre-rape behavior was manipulated. Results showed that both rape myth acceptance and victims' pre-rape behavior influenced the degree of responsibility attributed to victims and assailants. No significant effects of subject gender were found. A more complex conceptualization is suggested of the link between observer and victim characteristics in social reactions to and evaluations of rape victims.     

Attitudes Toward Prostitution and Acceptance of Rape Myths1

Rape myths and prostitution myths are a component of culturally supported attitudes that normalize violence against women. Prostitution myths justify the existence of prostitution, promote misinformation about prostitution, and contribute to a social climate that exploits and harms not only prostituted women, but all women. This study investigated the relationship between prostitution myth acceptance and rape myth acceptance in a sample of university undergraduates. Rape myth acceptance was positively correlated with prostitution myth acceptance among 783 university undergraduates from California, Iowa, Oregon, and Texas. College men were significantly more accepting of prostitution myths than were college women. Results suggest that acceptance of prostitution myths are a component of attitudes that justify violence against women.     

The Impact of College Education on Rape Myth Acceptance,Alcohol Expectancies,and Bystander Attitudes

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of education on rape myth acceptance, alcohol expectancies, and bystander attitudes. A sample of 126 community members and college students who had consumed alcohol within the past 90 days were administered surveys. College experience was unrelated to rape myth acceptance, alcohol expectancies, and bystander intentions. In line with previous research, two rape myth subscales were inversely related to bystander attitudes. In regard to alcohol expectancies and bystander attitudes, only one subscale was marginally significant. Ancillary analysis indicated that rape myth acceptance varied as a function of age, with older individuals less likely to support rape myths.     

Accusers Lie and Other Myths: Rape Myth Acceptance Predicts Judgments Made About Accusers and Accused Perpetrators in a Rape Case

Previous research results have yielded a consistent link between rape myth acceptance and sexual assault victim blaming: Individuals reporting higher levels of rape myth acceptance also report higher levels of victim blaming. In four studies we explored whether the presentation of rape-myth confirming information or rape-myth debunking information might moderate these tendencies. In these studies, U.S. undergraduates (97 in Study 1, 84 in Study 2, 98 in Study 3, and 116 in Study 4) read scenarios of a heterosexual sexual assault case and were randomly assigned to a control condition, a rape myth confirmation condition, or a rape myth debunking condition; they also reported the extent to which they endorsed or accepted rape myths. Rape myth acceptance robustly correlated with judgments made about accusers and accused rapists regardless whether the accuser/accused pairing was female/male (Studies 1 and 2) or male/female (Studies 3 and 4). For example, those who most strongly endorsed rape myths were also likely to disbelieve accusers. There were few instances indicating that the presentation of rape myth confirming information or rape myth debunking information moderated these effects. This lack of moderation occurred regardless of whether the information came from trial lawyers or from expert witnesses in the case. The relative impotence of the information presentations could be due to several factors (e.g., entrenched nature of rape myth acceptance, psychological reactance, timing and strength of manipulation), and we suggest ideas for how to overcome this relative impotence in future research.

     

Rape Myth Acceptance in College Students: How Far Have We Come?

Researchers have emphasized the significant roleof rape myth acceptance in individuals' predispositionto engage in sexually aggressive behavior, includingrape. The purpose of this study was to examine the current state of rape myth acceptance incollege students and the factors which differentiatedacceptance vs nonacceptance of rape myths. One hundredfifty-eightprimarily Caucasian respondents were provided with two measures of attitudes towardrape and asked the degree to which they agreed ordisagreed with each statement. Results indicated thatcollege students reported disagreement with rape myth statements. However, variations in the degreeof disagreement emerged; men and individuals who had notattended a rape awareness workshop expressed weakerdisagreement with rape myths than women and individuals who had attended a rape awareness workshop.Discriminant analysis of these variables successfullyidentified a core set of rape myths which differentiatedindividuals in terms of the degree to which they subscribed to rape-supportive attitudes.Conclusions were drawn regarding rape myth acceptanceand the need for further research.     

Deconstructing the Associations of Religiosity,Christian Denominations,and Non-Religions to Rape Myth Acceptance among University Students

Minimal research exists regarding the relationship between rape myth acceptance and religion. This study assessed rape myth acceptance of 503 university students’ disaggregated by five religious identities from 21 Division I postsecondary institutions. Except for Presbyterians, females disagree with rape myths at greater levels than males. Religiosity is a non-predictor for rape myth acceptance after controlling for students’ demographic and lifestyle characteristics. The least religious (Agnostics and Atheists) reject rape myths, whereas the most religious (Baptists and Presbyterians) show non-relationships with rape myths. Catholics accept rape myths, and religiosity functions as a moderator as highly religious Catholics reject rape myths.     

Co-occurrence of Rape Myth Acceptance, Sexism, Racism, Homophobia, Ageism, Classism, and Religious Intolerance

Rape myth acceptance has been extensively studied. Little research is available, however, on the relationship of this variable to other oppressive belief systems. A sample of 492 male and 506 female college students completed the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (short form), the Neosexism Scale, the Modern and Old Fashioned Racism Scale, the Modern Homophobia Scale, a modified version of the Economic Belief Scale, the Fraboni Scale of Ageism, and the Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale (short form). Because there were no existing measures of intolerance toward multiple religions, the Religious Intolerance Scale was developed for this study (using relevant items from the Godfrey Richman Isms Scale). Findings here suggested that greater racism (both modern and old fashioned), sexism (both modern and old fashioned), homophobia (toward both gay men and lesbians), ageism, classism, and religious intolerance were each associated with greater rape myth acceptance. Moreover, each belief system collectively added to the prediction of rape myth acceptance, although sexism has the highest overlap with rape myth acceptance. Although gender did not moderate the relationship between oppressive belief systems and rape myth acceptance, results, across analyses, did indicate that men reported greater rape myth acceptance than women did. Results point to the interrelatedness of rape myth acceptance, racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, ageism, and religious intolerance.     

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.     

Acceptance of male rape myths among college men and women

College students (157 men and 158 women; predominantly white middle class) from psychology courses at a midwestern university rated their agreement with statements reflecting myths that male rape cannot happen, involves victim blame, and is not traumatic to men. Statements varied by whether the rape perpetrator was a man or woman. Results showed that a majority of subjects disagreed with all myth statements, but most strongly with trauma myths. Percentages of disagreement with myths for subject groups ranged from 51% to 98%. Women were significantly more rejecting of rape myths than were men. Subjects were more likely to accept myths in which the rape perpetrator was female rather than male. Subjects' past victim experience with sexual coercion was not related to rape myth acceptance. Results are discussed in terms of societal attitudes toward rape and sex role stereotypes.