High school and college students' attitudes toward rape

This study explored the relationship between agreement with myths about rape and the tendency to blame the victim in a sample of high school and college students. It was found that high school males believed more strongly than did both high school females and college males in myths about rape, and they assigned greater blame to the victims of rape. For both high school males and females, belief in myths about rape was associated with assigning more blame to the victims.     

Gender differences in attitudes toward psychopathic sexual offenders

Although a considerable amount of research has been conducted examining the validity of psychopathy as a psychological construct, relatively few studies have focused on the effects of using this disorder in "real-world" settings to influence the attitudes of laypersons who are making life-altering decisions about offenders. This study attempted to replicate and extend earlier findings (Guy & Edens, 2003) suggesting that there are gender differences in the impact of expert testimony regarding psychopathy. A sample of 599 undergraduates reviewed case facts regarding a hypothetical Sexually Violent Predator trial in which the type of risk assessment testimony provided (clinical opinion, actuarial scale, psychopathy evaluation) and the age of the victims (adult versus child) were manipulated. Consistent with prior research, despite overall high rates of support for commitment in the adult victim condition, men were less prone than women to support civil commitment when the defendant was described as "a psychopath" (62.5 versus 86.5%). No such gender differences were noted in the clinical opinion or actuarial conditions. When the victims were identified as children, type of testimony had no impact because support for commitment was almost unilateral. Finally, ratings of how psychopathic the defendant was perceived to be (regardless of the testimony provided) were significantly associated with support for commitment across most conditions.     

Indian college students' attitudes toward abortion in different contexts

Two experimental studies used the hypothetical situation of a pregnant woman (the stimulus person) considering the possibility of an abortion and obtained from Bombay college students estimates of the likelihood of an abortion and their own recommendations in favor of abortion. The first study had a 2 (subject's sex) × 2 (reason for abortion: unplanned child vs. female child) × 2 (person more in favor of abortion: stimulus person vs. her husband) × 3 (stimulus person's socioeconomic status: upper, middle, or lower class) factorial design with 15 subjects per cell. Male subjects indicated greater likelihood of abortion than female subjects. Recommendations were stronger for the unplanned rather than female child and for the lower class rather than upper and middle class stimulus persons. The second study had a 2 (subject's sex) × 3 (reason for abortion: unplanned marital pregnancy, premarital pregnancy, or rape pregnancy) × 3 (stimulus person's socioeconomic status: upper, middle, or lower class) factorial design with 15 subjects per cell. Perceived likelihood and strength of recommendation were highest for rape pregnancy followed by premarital pregnancy and marital pregnancy in that order. The interactions in this study suggested a greater vulnerability of the middle class as compared to the other two classes with respect to sexual morality.     

Greek students' attitudes toward physical activity and health-related behavior

A three-wave study over one year with 882 adolescents, aged 10 to 16 years at the initial testing, examined psychosocial variables regarding four health-related behaviors: exercise, eating fruit, smoking, and drug use. Analysis showed that during the stages of the study, high school students' exercise behavior decreased and their smoking behavior increased as well as their willingness to use drugs. It seems that study of physical education and health education during adolescence must take into account the possible differences in psychosocial variables associated with health-related behaviors as well as the different stages of adolescence.     

Relations of college students' attitudes toward prevention of HIV and AIDS

This study investigated current attitudes towards HIV prevention in a sample of 1061 college students enrolled at a midwestern university. The survey was a self-administered set of 8 demographic questions and 15 questions about attitudes. The findings indicated sex difference in overall attitudes, with females having more positive attitudes than male peers with regard to HIV prevention. Also, analysis of variance indicated ethnicity was related to overall attitudes toward HIV prevention. It appears that education which might reduce the prevalence of HIV infection should consider programs specific to sex and ethnicity.     

The effects of safer-sex stories on college students' attitudes toward condoms

Social learning theory predicts that reading non-erotic stories involving condom use will be as effective as reading erotic stories with condom use in producing positive attitudes toward condoms. Werner's orthogenetic principle, however, predicts that reading erotic condom stories will be most effective because of the link created between sexual arousal and cognitive information about condoms. 168 male and 149 female undergraduates enrolled in Introductory Psychology at a small, private, southern university participated in a study to test the validity of these two theories. The students read one of the following types of stories: erotic with condom placement described, erotic without condom use, or non-erotic with a model for discussing condoms. The men and women who read the non-erotic stories were most positive about condoms and reported the strongest intentions to use condoms in the future. These findings suggest that erotica is not necessary to produce positive attitudes toward condoms.     

Gender differences in Taiwan university students' attitudes toward Web-based learning.

This study explored gender differences on university students' attitudes toward Web-based learning in Taiwan. A Web-based Learning Attitude Survey (WLAS) was developed. The WLAS consisted of five scales, including access, social structure, content, pedagogy, and community relationship toward Web-based learning. By using an online survey, this study gathered the responses of 1,866 Taiwanese university students (940 males and 926 females) whose ages ranged from 18 to 23. The results showed significant gender differences in the aspects of social structure, content, and community relationship involved in Web-based learning. Interestingly, although females might consider the Internet a masculine-dominated technology, they displayed more favorable attitudes than males did regarding the impacts of socioeconomic status (the social structure scale) on students' performance of Web-based learning. Moreover, females possessed more positive attitudes than males toward the helpfulness and variety of the content for Web learning. However, they did not think the virtual interaction on the Internet could develop adequate teacher-student and peer relationships (the community relationship scale). Some follow-up interviews were also conducted with selected students, and the implications derived from this study were discussed.     

Measuring students' attitudes toward college education's role in addressing social issues

As service-learning projects have spread throughout academia, efforts to assess the service-learning experience have assumed a greater importance. The BERSI scale (Business Education's Role in addressing Social Issues) was developed as a measure of business students' attitudes toward social issues being addressed as part of a business education. As such, it was intended to be useful in assessing attitudinal outcomes of service learning. In order for the BERSI to be useful for nonbusiness students, the scale would need to be reconceptualized and revalidated. This study modified the BERSI items with a focus on college students in general rather than business students, making the resulting scale, College Education's Role in addressing Social Issues (CERSI), potentially helpful to service-learning researchers in a broader setting. The CERSI scale was then validated using standard techniques and normative data were reported.     

United States and Japanese college students' attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help

The purpose of the study was to find how nationality, sex, and past experience of seeking professional psychological services are related to attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Three hundred Japanese college students and 300 US college students responded to the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help (ATSPPH) questionnaire. The ATSPPH consists of four subscales: Need (recognition of need), Stigma Tolerance (the degree of tolerance against stigma associated with help‐seeking action), Openness (interpersonal openness), and Confidence (confidence in mental health professionals). As predicted, past experience of seeking professional psychological service and sex were important predictor variables of performance on the ATSPPH scales. Those who had past experience of seeking professional psychological help had more favourable attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help than those who never consulted psychological professionals. Similarly, in testing the past experience separately with the two nation groups, past experience with seeking professional psychological services was found to be a predictor of the overall attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among Japanese and US participants. Furthermore, Japanese participants with past experience also showed greater recognition of need for professional psychological help and confidence in psychological health professions than Japanese without past experience. The degree of stigma tolerance associated with help‐seeking behaviour and the tendency of interpersonal openness, however, did not differ between Japanese participants with and without the past experience of seeking professional psychological services. The same results were also found among the US participants. In terms of sex as a predictor variable, females tended to have more positive attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help than males. There was a significant nationality by sex interaction effect. US females had significantly more favourable attitudes than the other three groups, indicating that there was sex difference in help‐seeking attitudes in the US group, but not in the Japanese group. If the sex variable is ignored, Japanese students have less favourable overall attitudes toward seeking professional psychological services than US students. Other results and limitations of the study are discussed.     

Gender role and attitudes toward rape in male and female college students

This study examined the relationship between college students' gender roles and attitudes toward rape. Subjects were 145 male and 374 female college students with a mean age of 20.1 years. The institution has a 12.5% minority population. Subjects received a questionnaire packet containing the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), an acquaintance or stranger rape scenario, a questionnaire designed to assess attitudes toward the scenario, the short version of the Attitudes Towards Women Scale (AWS), the Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (RMAS), and the Attitudes Toward Rape questionnaire (ATR). It was hypothesized that participants classified as masculine according to the BSRI would believe in more rape myths, hold more pro-rape attitudes, and believe in more traditional gender roles than would those who were classified as feminine, androgynous, or undifferentiated. A gender by gender role interaction on the AWS revealed that feminine and androgynous men were exceptions to the pattern that men had significantly less egalitarian views than women. Responses to the scenario questionnaire suggested that women and men view acquaintance rape differently, and that men may experience more attitude change as a result of a rape awareness workshop than women.     

West Indian teachers', parents', and students' attitudes toward adolescent behavior problems

Attitudes toward adolescent behavior problems were surveyed using samples of teachers, parents, and secondary school students in Barbados. Fifty-two behaviors were rated for their impact on students' school and general social adjustment. Results revealed high positive correlations between groups in terms of ranked positions of problems, and also between rankings of problems of both boys and girls. However, parents rated the majority of problems higher (more serious) than did teachers, while adults generally awarded higher ratings than did male students, especially for conduct problems. Female students' responses were highly similar to those of adults, except in respect to heterosexual activity, which they rated more serious in boys, while most adults rated it much more serious in girls. Implications for discipline and guidance are considered.     

Age and gender differences in college students' attitudes toward women: A replication and extension

This study replicates and extends earlier research on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (J. T. Spence and R. L. Helmreich, The Attitudes Towards Women Scale: An Objective Instrument to Measure Attitudes Towards the Rights and Roles of Women in Contemporary Society, JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 1972, 2, 66). The scale was administered to 382 college students to assess the reliability of the scale, gender and age differences in responses to the scale, and to make comparisons to past research with different samples. Age was positively associated with more liberal attitudes toward women. Females were more liberal overall than males; however, this depended on the particular item.     

Japanese college students' attitudes toward professional psychological services: the role of cultural self-construal and self-concealment

The utilization of professional help is affected by individual factors such as help-seeking attitudes and self-concealment as well as the availability of mental health services. The present study examined the role of cultural self-construal and self-concealment on attitudes toward professional psychological services. A survey was conducted with 214 Japanese college students. Multiple regression analyses found that interdependent self-construal significantly predicted the Recognition of Need for Psychological Services. Self-concealment was predictive of two different facets of help-seeking attitudes: Interpersonal Openness and Stigma Tolerance. Future studies are recommended to refine the model that was tested.     

Measuring medical and nursing students' attitudes toward AIDS

Investigated attitudes toward AIDS patients among medical and nursing students. Two separate cohorts of students (total N = 550) were surveyed to examine and then validate with confirmatory factor analysis the latent factor structure of such attitudes. Results indicate that a three-factor structure representing fear of contagion, negative emotions, and professional resistance provides a good fit to the data (goodness-of-fit index [GFI] = .92, parsimonious GFI = .67). We offer the resulting 15-item AIDS Attitudes Scale (AAS) as a reliable and valid measure for assessing health care students' attitudes toward working with AIDS patients. Our results suggest the presence of multiple predictors of such attitudes.     

Gender differences in attitudes toward animal research

Although gender differences in attitudes toward animal research have been reported in the literature for some time, exploration into the nature of these differences has received less attention. This article examines gender differences in responses to a survey of attitudes toward the use of animals in research. The survey was completed by college students and consisted of items intended to tap different issues related to the animal research debate. Results indicated that women were more likely than men to support tenets of the animal protection movement. Likewise, women were more likely than men to favor increased restrictions on animal use and were more concerned than men about the suffering of research animals. Analysis of item contents suggested that women endorsed items reflecting a general caring for animals, were more willing than men to make personal sacrifices such as giving up meat and medical benefits in an effort to protect animals, and were more likely than men to question the use of animals in research on scientific grounds. Men, on the other hand, tended to emphasize the potential benefits arising from the use of animals in research.     

Cultural expression and black students' attitudes toward high achievers

The authors of the present study have extended research by D. Marryshow that investigated African American students' attitudes toward 4 high achievers who differed in their approach to high achievement. D. Marryshow (1992) assessed students' social attitudes and perceptions of 4 high achievers with culturally distinct achievement orientations. In the present research, the authors assessed students' academic attitudes and perceptions of the same 4 high achievers. In addition, the present study includes Black children's predictions of their parents' and peers' attitudes toward these high achieving students. The results generally supported the authors' hypothesis that African American children would report a preference for students who achieve via attitudes and behaviors congruent with African American cultural values. The children also predicted that their parents and their Black peers would prefer these same African American culturally oriented high achievers. The findings suggest that Black children who prefer African American cultural modes of achievement may find themselves at odds with classroom demands geared toward learning in the mainstream cultural mode and thus may be at increased risk of academic failure.     

Turkish college students' attitudes toward women managers: the effects of patriarchy,sexism, and gender differences

The authors examined how patriarchy, sexism, and gender influence Turkish college students' attitudes toward women managers. Turkish undergraduate students (N = 183) from Middle East Technical University completed questionnaires measuring attitudes toward women managers as well as attitudes toward the concepts of hostile and benevolent sexism and support for patriarchy. Participants were of upper- or middle-class Turkish backgrounds. The results showed that male participants exhibited less positive attitudes toward women managers than did female participants. In addition, participants who held more favorable attitudes toward patriarchy and who scored high on hostile sexism also held less positive attitudes toward women managers than those who held less favorable attitudes toward patriarchy and who scored low on hostile sexism. A regression analysis showed that support for patriarchy and hostile sexism was more important for explaining less favorable attitudes toward women managers than was benevolent sexism.     

Acculturation, enculturation, and Asian American college students' mental health and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help

In the present study, we tested a theoretically and empirically derived partially indirect effects acculturation and enculturation model of Asian American college students' mental health and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Latent variable path analysis with 296 self-identified Asian American college students supported the partially indirect effects model and demonstrated the ways in which behavioral acculturation, behavioral enculturation, values acculturation, values enculturation, and acculturation gap family conflict related to mental health and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help directly and indirectly through acculturative stress. We also tested a generational status moderator hypothesis to determine whether differences in model-implied relationships emerged across U.S.- (n = 185) and foreign-born (n = 107) participants. Consistent with this hypothesis, statistically significant differences in structural coefficients emerged across generational status. Limitations, future directions for research, and counseling implications are discussed.