“The Destruction of a Legacy”: Agenda Setting and the Bill Cosby Sexual Assault Allegations

Utilizing agenda setting theory, this study investigates the Bill Cosby sexual assault allegation scandal and how the scandal is framed by the media. In order to examine if and how varied networks reported differently on the Cosby scandal, sixty articles from three, distinct networks (CNN, FOX News, E!) were analyzed and coded under seven different categories. Results demonstrate a significant difference among the analyzed networks and media frames most reported in the sample for this study. Although all networks address Cosby’s rise and fall of an American hero, agendas set and story frames presented varied. Specifically, CNN highlighted victims’/survivors’ powerful voice whereas E! and FOX News highlighted Cosby’s support from the black community, celebrities and co-stars. Additional results, discussion and future directions follow.     

Survivors’ Advice to Service Providers: How to Best Serve Survivors of Sexual Assault

Recognizing the relatively low rate at which sexual assault survivors seek services, researchers in the last decade have turned their attention to better understanding survivors’ experiences with victim services. Surprisingly, limited research has directly asked sexual assault survivors for recommendations on how to improve victim services, including both criminal justice and community-based services. The current study builds on the existing literature to gather input from women survivors that can translate into ways to improve victim services. As part of a larger longitudinal study, the current investigation asked 224 ethnically diverse adult (aged 18–62) women survivors of recent sexual assault to provide recommendations for how victim services can best serve survivors of sexual assault at multiple time points. Nearly all women in the study (91%) offered specific recommendations on how to improve victim services. Recommendations included ensuring availability of a female provider, improving communication with survivors as well as within and between service providers, helping survivors obtain resources, believing and not blaming survivors, demonstrating greater understanding of trauma-related responses and approaching survivors with greater compassion, and implementing better training on effectively working with survivors. Implications for victim service provision are discussed.     

College Students’ Beliefs Regarding Help Seeking for Male and Female Sexual Assault Survivors: Even Less Support for Male Survivors

This study explored college students’ perceptions regarding barriers to disclosure of sexual assault and helpfulness of campus resources for survivors of sexual assault. To better understand barriers and social reactions to disclosure of sexual assault, it is important to examine peer perceptions of barriers and resources for assault survivors. A total of 475 undergraduate students estimated the frequency with which various barriers prevent sexual assault disclosure and rated the helpfulness of several campus resources for both male and female survivors. Students perceived that barriers to disclosure were more likely to prevent men than women from telling someone they were assaulted and seeking help. Students also believed that campus resources are more helpful for female than male survivors. Students’ negative perceptions of disclosure and help seeking for male survivors indicate that more education regarding the sexual assault of males and inclusive outreach is needed.     

The Impact of Sexual Assault on College Students’ Daily Occupations: A Phenomenological Approach

Abstract

Sexual assault is associated with a high degree of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) severity. Three in ten survivors of campus sexual assault develop PTSD over their lifetime. Occupational therapists treat veterans with PTSD, but limited research exists addressing college student survivors of sexual assault and occupational therapy. A phenomenological approach was used to understand meanings of sexual assault for college student survivors. Semi-structured interviews yielded rich data and themes of disruption and reduced quality of life. The author concludes there is potential for occupational therapists to play a collaborative role on college campuses.     

Supporting Survivors: The Roles of Rape Myths and Feminism in University Resident Assistants’ Response to Sexual Assault Disclosure Scenarios

Sex Roles - Sexual assault is a widespread and deleterious issue on U.S. college campuses. Resident assistants (RAs) in university housing are in a unique position to support students who...     

Sexual Assault Training in the Military: Evaluating Efforts to End the “Invisible War”

Sexual assault is an insidious problem in the United States military. In 2005 the Department of Defense (DoD) created the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, which centralizes responsibility for sexual assault training. However, this training initiative has undergone little evaluation by outside researchers. Addressing this need, we analyzed responses from over 24,000 active duty personnel who completed the 2010 DoD Workplace and Gender Relations Survey. We assessed whether sexual assault training exposure (None, Minimal, Partial, or Comprehensive) predicted accurate knowledge of sexual assault resources and protocols. Using a social-ecological framework, we investigated whether institutional and individual factors influenced Service members’ training exposure and judgment of training effectiveness. According to our results, exposure to comprehensive training predicted lower sexual assault incidence and superior knowledge. However, comprehensive training differed as a function of military branch, rank, gender, and sexual assault history. Judgments of training effectiveness also varied across these dimensions. Our results highlight the importance of considering context, gender, and victimization history when evaluating institutional efforts to end sexual violence. The DoD’s 2010 annual report on military sexual assault concluded that “most Active Duty members receive effective training on sexual assault” (p. 104). Our results cast doubt on that assertion.     

White Female Bystanders’ Responses to a Black Woman at Risk for Sexual Assault: Associations With Attitudes About Sexism and Racial Injustice

Women of color are affected by both sexism and racism. We examined White women’s attitudes about sexism (hostile and benevolent sexism) and racial injustice (White empathic responses to racism) as correlates of their responses to a Black woman at risk for an alcohol-related sexual assault. White undergraduate women (N = 172) reported on their attitudes and then completed measures of blame and willingness to intervene in response to a scenario in which a woman named “LaToya” is at risk. All 3 types of attitudes were directly related to victim blame, whereas only hostile sexism was directly, negatively related to willingness to intervene. White empathic responses to racism moderated the associations between benevolent sexism and both victim blame and willingness to intervene. Results suggest that among White female bystanders, both hostile and benevolent sexist attitudes were related to increased blame and reduced willingness to intervene to help Black women at risk. The adverse effects of benevolent sexism, however, were reduced for those with greater concerns about racial injustice.     

Asian American Women Sexual Assault Survivors’ Choice of Coping Strategies: The Role of Post-Assault Cognitive Responses

ABSTRACT

Even though approximately one in three Asian American (AA) and Pacific Islander women experience sexual assault victimization, there is a dearth of literature examining how AA women sexual assault survivors cope with this traumatic experience. This study examined AA female sexual assault survivors’ choice of coping strategies post-assault and how their cognitive responses toward sexual assault victimization (e.g., attributions of self-blame, perceived control over the recovery process) relate to their use of coping strategies. Using the AA subsets of two large community studies, a total of 64 AA women ages 18 to 58 with unwanted sexual experiences after the age of 14 years were included in the analyses. Results indicated that AA survivors used Acceptance and Self-Distraction the most to cope with sexual assault. In addition, those who perceived they had less control over their recovery process tended to use more maladaptive coping strategies, such as substance abuse and behavioral disengagement (e.g., giving up). The discussion includes clinical implications and recommendations for using language, modalities, and foci of interventions that are consistent with clients’ and their families’ worldviews (e.g., indirect inquiries, solution-focused).     

Promotion of Sexual Health and Sexual Responsibility in Women’s Health and Men’s Health Magazines

This study analyzed the promotion of sexual health and sexual responsibility in Women’s Health and Men’s Health magazines as characterized by the Surgeon General’s Call to Action along with sexual health objectives targeted by Healthy People 2020 and sexual healthy behavior outcomes established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This study also identified the most frequently addressed sexual health topics included in Women’s Health and Men’s Health. Two coders conducted a content analysis of a total of 599 articles from 64 issues (32 Women’s Health and 32 Men’s Health) published between January 2009 and November 2012. More than half of all articles addressing sexual health were found to promote sexual health (57 %). Promotion of sexual responsibility was rare with variables such as ensuring that pregnancy occurs only when desired, recognition and tolerance for diversity, limiting the number of sexual partners, and using birth control consistently each mentioned in <3 % of articles in this study sample. Among topics coded, improving sex life (29 %), what men like (19 %), and what women like (18 %) were the most common in Women’s Health while What women like (46 %), improving sex life (27 %), and other men’s sexual health (16 %) were the most frequent topics in Men’s Health. Among the least common topics mentioned were homosexuality (0.16 %) and HIV/AIDS (0.33 %). No articles addressed rape or dating violence.     

Women’s Introduction to Alternative Sexual Behaviors through Erotica and Its Association with Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction

Women’s interests in bondage, discipline, dominance/submission, and sadism/masochism (BDSM) behaviors are one of the most poorly understood research topics, even though erotica novels—typically read by women—are increasingly including these activities. The present study explored potential links between women’s engagement in BDSM behaviors, consumption of erotica literature, relationship communication and satisfaction, and overall well-being using a multi-study approach. Results from three exploratory studies using multiple methodologies revealed a positive association between erotica, BDSM behaviors, and physical satisfaction, but brought attention to the relatively little information available for women who are interested in practicing alternative sexual behaviors. Practical suggestions for social scientists and mental health professionals are provided.     

Sexual Perfectionism and Women’s Sexual Assertiveness: Understanding the Unique Effects of Perfectionistic Expectations about Sex Originating from and Directed toward the Sexual Partner

Marriage has significantly changed since Becker proposed his specialization model yet some scholars maintain that specialization characterizes modern couples. Specialization occurs when one partner, traditionally the man, concentrates on market work while the other partner, traditionally the woman, focuses on nonmarket work such as housework or childcare. Using innovative time diary data from primarily highly-educated, White, dual-earner U.S. couples, we examine how couples manage their time in market and household work and leisure across a momentous, gendered life course turning point—the transition to parenthood. We find little evidence of specialization, but stronger evidence of nonspecialization where both partners concurrently engaged in market work or leisure. Yet gender still mattered. Men enjoyed more leisure time, particularly on nonworkdays, whereas their partners performed more nonmarket work. Our study is the first known to uncover exactly what men were doing while women performed additional minutes of housework and childcare. On nonworkdays, fathers engaged in leisure 47% and 35% of the time during which mothers performed childcare and routine housework, respectively. Mothers engaged in leisure only about 16% to 19% of the time that fathers performed childcare and routine housework. In sum, although our study challenges economic theories of specialization by suggesting that nonspecialization is the norm for new parents’ time among highly-educated, dual-earner couples, persistent gender inequalities continue to characterize family work and leisure time.     

What Is Sexual Empowerment? A Multidimensional and Process-Oriented Approach to Adolescent Girls’ Sexual Empowerment

Theorists disagree about how to define the concept of empowerment. This disagreement extends to discussions of adolescent girls’ sexual empowerment. Feminists struggle with whether sexual empowerment should be conceptualized as a subjective internal feeling of power and agency or an objective measure of power and control. Defining sexual empowerment as a subjective state may mistakenly equate feelings of agency with cultural and institutional power. Yet, a subjective definition of sexual empowerment is advantageous in that it validates girls’ own experiences and perceptions. This commentary argues that sexual empowerment might best be conceptualized as a continuous and multidimensional construct. This would allow for the recognition of sexual empowerment as a developmental process, and it would allow for the acknowledgement of ambivalent empowerment.     

Iranian Psychotherapists’ Behaviors and Beliefs Toward Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

The aim of this study is to investigate Iranian psychotherapists’ behaviors and beliefs toward sexual orientation and gender identity. The sample consisted of 358 Iranian psychotherapists, of whom 29.3% (n = 105) were male and 67% (n = 24) were female. Results from the chi-square analyses showed that more male participants reported accepting homosexual clients and treating them as having a pathological disorder than their female counterparts; and licensed respondents reported engaging more in accepting only male or female clients, accepting more homosexual and transgender clients for treatment, and treating them as having a pathological disorder when compared with their unlicensed counterparts. Furthermore supervised respondents reported accepting more homosexual clients than their unsupervised counterparts. However results from the multivariate analysis of variance has indicated that the female participants reported “accepting homosexuals or transgender clients for treatment” more often than the male participants; unsupervised participants reported “accepting homosexual or transgender clients for treatment” and “treating homosexuality per se as a pathological disorder” more often than their supervised counterparts.     

Sexual Consent and Lying About One’s Self

Despite the acknowledgement of the moral significance of consent there is still much work to be done in determining which specific sexual encounters count as unproblematically consensual. This paper focuses on the impact of deception. It takes up the specific case of deception about one’s self. It may seem obvious that one ought not to lie to a sexual partner about who one is, but determining which features of oneself are most relevant, as well as the lies which it follows would be impermissible to tell, is complicated. It is argued here that deception about one’s morally valenced character traits, those we think of as virtues and vices, are particularly problematic. This is true regardless of whether knowing the truth about those traits would have made a difference to one’s partner’s consent. Attention is then drawn to a range of types of lies that one ought not to tell.     

Network Knowledge Organization: Do Knowledge Structures for Sexual and Emotional Information Reflect Gender or Sexual Orientation?

Network theory conceptualizes the organizationof semantic information as nodes within a net-likestructure. Links within the network representassociations among knowledge structures or concepts andhave been viewed as forming the basis of humansemantic memory (Quillian, 1962). Network models haverecently been employed in emotion theory (Bower, 1981;Lang, 1984) and in research in human sexuality (Geer, 1996; Rabalais & Geer, 1996; Smith,Eggleston, Gerrard, & Gibbons, 1996). As a result ofthat research, stable gender differences in theorganization of knowledge for sexual and emotionalinformation have begun to be identified (see Geer &Manguno-Mire, 1996, for a review). These differences inknowledge organization have been shown to map well ontoexisting research demonstrating gender differences in sexual attitudes, fantasies, and behavior(Geer & Manguno-Mire). The present study employs thePathfinder computer algorithm (Schvaneveldt, 1990) tocompare the cognitive associative networks of heterosexual men and women and gay men andlesbians. Ninety homosexuals (49 gay men and 41lesbians) and 95 heterosexuals (48 men and 47women)rated all pair-wise combinations of 16 wordsrelevant to sexuality and emotion. The sample was predominantlyCaucasian (90%). Four percent of participants wereAfrican-American, 3% were Hispanic American, 1% wereAsian American. Analysis of our dependent variable(number of links on relevant concepts) revealed genderand sexual orientation differences in the total numberof links in associative networks, the number of linkswithin relevant sexual and emotional word clusters, between relevant word clusters, and onindividual words. Results are interpreted in light ofrelevant theories of gender and sexualorientation.     

Women's and Men's Reactions to Man-to-Man Sexual Harassment: Does the Sexual Orientation of the Victim Matter?

We manipulated the sexual orientation of the victim in a hypothetical case to address 3 key questions: Is it harassment, does the case need to be investigated further, and is the harasser's behavior punishable? Our sample comprised 433 undergraduates (91.5% of whom were White). We hypothesized that women would rate the case as more sexually harassing, as needing further investigation, and as more punishable than men would. We also hypothesized that the sexual orientation of the victim would affect perceptions of the case; specifically, students would significantly rate the incident as more harassing, as needing further investigation, and would recommend more punishment when the victim was homosexual rather than heterosexual. We hypothesized that female respondents would perceive more categories of inappropriate behaviors perpetrated by men on other men as constituting sexual harassment than would male respondents. Furthermore, we hypothesized that lewd comments and enforcement of the traditional masculine gender role would predict responses to the 3 key questions asked about the case. With the exception of recommending greater punishment when the victim was homosexual rather than heterosexual, all hypotheses were supported.     

Assessing Sexual Orientation–Related Obsessions and Compulsions in Italian Heterosexual Individuals: Development and Validation of the Sexual Orientation Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (SO-OCS)

Sexual Orientation–Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (SO-OCD) is characterized by intrusive thoughts, images, and urges related to one’s sexual orientation, and by consequent avoidance, reassurance seeking, and overt and covert compulsions. Currently there is no short self-report measure that assesses SO-OCD symptoms. The current article describes two studies that develop and evaluate the first version of the Sexual Orientation Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (SO-OCS), a 14-item Italian self-report measure targeted towards heterosexual individuals. In Study 1, the SO-OCS was developed and refined through item analysis and exploratory factor analysis from an initial pool of 33 items administered to 732 Italian nonclinical participants. The SO-OCS showed a unidimensional structure and an acceptable internal consistency. In Study 2, the factor structure, internal consistency, temporal stability, construct and criterion validity, and diagnostic sensitivity of the SO-OCS were investigated in three samples of Italian participants (294 from the general population, 52 OCD patients who reported sexual orientation-related symptoms or concerns as a primary complaint, and 51 OCD patients who did not report these symptoms as primary complaint). The SO-OCS was again found to have a unidimensional structure and good internal consistency, as well as to exhibit strong construct validity. Specifically, the SO-OCS showed an excellent criterion validity and diagnostic sensitivity, as it successfully discriminated between those with SO-OCD and all other groups of participants. Finally, evidence of temporal stability of the SO-OCS in a nonclinical subsample was found. The SO-OCS holds promise as a measure of SO-OCD symptoms in heterosexual individuals.