Why Some Women Consent to Unwanted Sex With a Dating Partner: Insights from Attachment Theory

Several studies have shown that many college women engage in unwanted sexual activity with a dating partner. However, little research has examined the differences between women who comply with requests for unwanted sexual activity and women who do not. This study utilized an attachment theory framework to investigate individual differences in women's compliant sexual behavior. An ethnically diverse sample of 125 college women who had consented to unwanted sex with a current dating partner completed measures of their attachment style, commitment to their current relationship, perceptions of their partner's commitment, and willingness to consent to unwanted sex in a hypothetical scenario. Results showed that attachment style and commitment perceptions were associated with women's willingness to consent to unwanted sex with a dating partner in the hypothetical scenario and their reasons for this decision. As predicted, anxiously attached women were the most willing to consent to unwanted sex, and they often cited fears that their partner would lose interest in them as reasons for their compliance. Contrary to hypotheses, avoidantly attached women were not the least willing to consent to unwanted sex. They often reported passively complying with a partner's sexual request in order to fulfill relationship obligations. The importance of sexuality to attachment formation in dating relationships and the potential consequences of consenting to unwanted sex are discussed.     

WOMEN'S APPRAISALS OF SEXUAL-ASSAULT RISK IN DATING SITUATIONS

This study investigated how 165 female college students appraised their sexual-assault risk in a hypothetical dating situation. A 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment investigating the effects of male-dating-partner characteristics, story character beverage consumption, and perspective on women's risk appraisals was conducted. Multivariate analyses of variance were performed to test hypotheses regarding the feelings of the dating woman and the occurrence of sexual behaviors. Although the dating woman was rated as feeling more vulnerable on dates when alcohol was consumed, alcohol consumption did not influence ratings regarding the dating man committing nonconsensual sexual acts. Nonconsensual sexual behaviors were rated as more probable when the man had rape-congruent characteristics and when the participants were judging another woman rather than themselves. These findings suggest that women are partially accurate in making sexual-assault risk appraisals and thus may benefit from rape prevention education that specifically targets their inaccuracies.     

ALCOHOL AND DATING RISK FACTORS FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT AMONG COLLEGE WOMEN

American societal norms frequently link alcohol, dating, and sexuality. This cross-sectional study examined the role of alcohol and dating risk factors for sexual assault among a representative sample of female students at a large urban university. Over half of the 1,160 women had experienced some form of sexual assault. Ninety-five percent of these assaults were committed by someone the woman knew and almost half of these assaults involved alcohol consumption by either the man, the woman, or both. Discriminant function analyses indicated that dating, sexual, and misperception experiences and alcohol consumption during these experiences predicted assault group status. Furthermore, alcohol consumption during consensual sex and sexual misperceptions were positively related to alcohol consumption during the sexual assault. The predictors of assault group status were similar for African American and Caucasian women. Theoretical implications are discussed and suggestions are made for combining alcohol and sexual assault prevention programming.     

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN WOMEN'S SEXUAL ASSAULT EXPERIENCES BASED ON TACTICS USED BY THE PERPETRATOR

Only a few studies have examined the characteristics of sexual assault based on the tactics used by the perpetrator. In this study we compared the experiences of women who were forced to engage in vaginal, anal, or oral intercourse due to verbal coercion, physical force, or intoxication. Random-digit dialing was used to obtain a sample of 272 single African American and Caucasian women between the ages of 18 and 49 from the Detroit metropolitan area. Participants completed a computer-assisted self-interview that asked detailed questions about a past sexual assault and their reactions to it. Among the 139 women who were forced to engage in vaginal, anal, or oral intercourse, sexual assaults that involved physical force produced the most severe negative outcomes. Situations that involved the woman being too intoxicated to resist differed from others primarily in terms of how much alcohol the man and woman consumed. Although all types of sexual assault were perceived as being at least moderately serious, verbally coerced assaults were on average perceived as being least serious. These findings suggest that the perpetrators' tactics affect women's responses to sexual assault.     

The effects of alcohol intoxication and sexual interest on men's sexual persistence and hostility in a dating simulation

Perpetrators of sexual assault are often intoxicated; however, few experimental studies evaluate alcohol's “in the moment” effects on sexual aggression. This study extends past theory and research by examining the acute effects of alcohol on men's decisions about how to respond to sexual refusals in a dating simulation. Men (N = 62) ages 21–29 were randomly assigned to consume alcohol (target breath alcohol level 0.080%) or no alcohol. Participants were encouraged to talk to a simulated woman and act as they would on an actual date. They made choices from a list which included nonsexual and sexual options. The female agent was programmed to engage in some sexual activities but refuse others. Refusals became more intense if participants persisted. Negative binomial regression analysis was used to test a path analytic model. As predicted, participants' self‐reported desire to have sex was positively associated with choosing more consensual sexual activities during the simulation (i.e., activities in which the woman willingly engaged). Consensual sexual activities were positively associated with the number of times participants persisted after the woman refused. Alcohol moderated this relationship such that it was stronger for intoxicated men than sober men. The more sexual refusals participants received, the more hostile verbal comments they made to the woman. Contrary to our predictions, this relationship was not moderated by alcohol condition. Because participants had multiple opportunities to escalate their aggression or desist, this paradigm provides new insights into the mechanisms through which intoxication enhances the likelihood of sexual aggression in dating situations.

     

A Test of Evolutionary and Sociocultural Explanations of Reactions to Sexual Harassment

Although the field of evolutionary psychology has been perceived to generate predictions that are untestable, one potentially falsifiable prediction of the evolutionary approach is that women should be less upset by unwanted sexual advances from high than from low status men. Three experiments tested this hypothesis within a workplace and an academic setting. Across the first two experiments, women and men were actually more upset by perceived sexual harassment from higher than lower status members of the other sex. Results of Study 3 suggested that women only showed this difference when there was a power relationship involved. These results conflict with the evolutionary prediction and support a sociocultural explanation of reactions to sexual harassment; that is, that they are influenced by power differentials.     

Depressive symptoms over time in women partners of men with and without alcohol problems

In a sample of 202 adult women and their families, the authors examined the effects of their male partners' alcohol problems and antisociality, the women's alcohol problems and antisociality, family conflict, and offspring behavioral problems on the women's depressive symptoms over a 3-year period. The women's antisociality and alcohol problems were more strongly related to family conflict, offspring behavioral problems, and the women's depressive symptoms than were the men's antisociality and alcohol problems. The women's antisociality and family conflict most strongly predicted increases in the women's depressive symptoms over time. In addition, family conflict mediated the effects of maternal antisociality on the women's depressive symptoms.     

Gender Differences in Problem Drinking and Depression: Different “Vulnerabilities?”

This study examines the relationship between stressors and resources and the functioning of a sample of 515 men and women who had a drinking problem. At a one-year follow-up, both women and men had improved on three functioning measures: alcohol consumption, days intoxicated, and depression. There were no gender differences at Time 2 on alcohol consumption, but men had more days intoxicated and women had more symptoms of depression. The impact of stressors and resources varied by life domain, functioning criterion, and gender. Although the predictors varied, the amount of variance in depression accounted for was the same for women and men. The most striking gender difference was the stronger impact of friendships for women on all aspects of functioning. This study provides support for reconsideration of the stress vulnerability of women and men.     

Impact of alcohol on sexual decision making: Intentions to have unprotected sex

The impact of alcohol on intentions to have sex with a new partner and the antecedents of intentions were investigated in three studies (N = 139, 60, and 218, respectively). In all three studies, respondents were intoxicated or not intoxicated with alcohol and completed measures based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour in relation to having sex whilst imagining him- or her-self in the scenario. The scenario described unprotected sex between two individuals not in an existing relationship. Consistently across studies, intoxication had a significant effect on intentions for men but not for women. Also consistently across studies, affective attitudes were significantly stronger determinants of intentions for women than for men. Alcohol intoxication consistently moderated the impact of affective attitudes on intentions in women but not men, with greater intoxication associated with stronger impacts (Studies 1, 2, and 3). Implications for understanding the impacts of alcohol intoxication on sexual decision making in men and women are discussed.     

Having Casual Sex: Additive and Interactive Effects of Alcohol and Condom Availability on the Determinants of Intentions

The impact of alcohol, condom availability, and gender on intentions to engage in casual sex and its antecedents was investigated. Students ( N = 384) who were or were not intoxicated with alcohol completed measures based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in relation to having casual sex in a scenario. The scenario described sex between 2 individuals not in a relationship and manipulated the consumption of alcohol of the sexual partners and availability of condoms. The data were supportive of the TPB: Intentions were predictable from attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC). Results also support the inclusion of measures of past behavior and anticipated affective reactions, but not self-identity or moral norms as predictors of intentions. Alcohol in the scenario and condom availability increased intentions to have sex. There were also several interaction effects. Implications for using the TPB to understand sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol are discussed.     

Male and Female Recipients of Unwanted Sexual Contact in a College Student Sample: Prevalence Rates,Alcohol Use,and Depression Symptoms

It is typically assumed that acquaintance rapeand other forms of unwanted sexual contact involve malesas perpetrators and females as victims. The currentstudyinvestigated prevalence rates of experiencing as well as instigating sexual coercion, force,and other types of unwanted sexual contact for both menand women in a college Greek system. 165 men and 131women (82% Caucasian) completed 2 gender neutral measures of unwanted sexual contact, as well asassessments of alcohol use, alcohol related negativeconsequences, and depressive symptoms. Results indicatedmen were as likely to report being the recipients of sexual coercion as were women in thissample, although women were more likely to be thevictims of physical force. In addition, both men andwomen in this sample who had been the recipientsofunwanted sexual contactreported heavier alcoholconsumption and related negative consequences than didtheir peers who had nothad these experiences. Men whohad been the recipients of unwanted sexual contactreported more symptoms of depression than other men inthis sample, but there were no differences in depressionsymptoms for women who did or did not report theseexperiences.     

THROUGH HER EYES:

A major component of a woman's ability to resist assaults by strangers versus acquaintances lies in the social and cognitive context in which she is engaged with the perpetrator and within which she must recognize potential threat before engaging in a behavioral response. This paper presents questionnaire and focus group findings of heterosexual college sorority women's social contexts, perceived risks, responses, and psychological barriers to protecting themselves from sexual aggression threat by fraternity acquaintances. Several social and cognitive factors, including alcohol consumption and psychological barriers, were related to projected responses to sexual aggression. Participants in general held a high sense of invulnerability to victimization and an optimistic belief in their ability to resist sexual aggression. Several differences between previously victimized and nonvictimized women also emerged.     

The alcohol-aggression link: children's aggression expectancies in marital arguments as a function of the sobriety or intoxication of the arguing couple

Children's expectancies of man-woman and woman-man aggression during arguments between individuals who were either intoxicated or sober were examined. The role of child and familial characteristics in influencing these expectancies was assessed. We examined children's expectations of interadult verbal/psychological and physical aggression during simulated arguments presented to children on videotapes. A community sample (N = 156) of children and young adolescents (6-14-year olds) participated. Children expected higher levels of aggression during conflict when they thought that one or both participants in conflict were intoxicated versus sober. Further, higher levels of verbal versus physical interadult conflict were expected during the disputes. These findings build on the literature by demonstrating that elementary school age children and young adolescents exhibit expectancies that link the consumption of alcohol with increased verbal and physical aggression in marital arguments. These alcohol-aggression expectancies were robust and were evident in relation to either the man's or woman's perpetration of aggression against the spouse. Elucidation of factors that can influence associations between aggression and alcohol consumption are of importance and have broad implications for family functioning.     

Women’s Sexual Compliance with Male Dating Partners: Associations with Investment in Ideal Womanhood and Romantic Well-Being

Sexual compliance involves willing acquiescence to unwanted sex for the good of the relationship. Northeastern U.S. undergraduate women in exclusive relationships (N?=?193) anonymously reported on their sexual behaviors and motives, investment in ideal womanhood, and romantic well-being. About 37% (n?=?72) reported sexual compliance. As expected, sexually compliant women reported greater investment in ideal womanhood than non-compliant women, although unexpectedly, they reported less overall satisfaction and similar commitment. Women’s compliance was motivated more by pursuing relationship enhancement than by avoiding conflict. Regardless, only avoidance motives were associated (negatively) with relationship satisfaction. Compliant women who reported more frequent compliance motivated by conflict avoidance reported particularly low satisfaction. These findings challenge conceptualizations of women’s sexual compliance as beneficial.     

Controlling anger in self-reported sober and alcohol intoxicated states: moderating effects of trait anger and alcohol consumption

Controlling anger in self-reported sober and alcohol intoxicated states: Moderating effects of trait anger and alcohol consumption. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 52, 382-388. Retrospective self-reports about prior sober and alcohol intoxicated states were explored to reveal moderating effects of trait anger and alcohol consumption on anger control. The analyses were based on self-reports of trait anger and alcohol consumption as well as self-reports of the participants' typical levels of anger control in sober and alcohol intoxicated states in a population based sample of Finnish twins and their siblings (N = 4,852). The reported levels of anger control were lower regarding prior alcohol intoxicated states than sober states. A three-way interaction between alcohol consumption, trait anger and anger control was found. Whereas no interaction between alcohol consumption and trait anger was found in the self-reported sober state, there was an interactive effect of trait anger and alcohol consumption on anger control in the intoxicated state, indicating that the difference in anger control between those with high levels of alcohol consumption and those with low levels, was greater at higher levels of trait anger. Women had lower levels of anger control than men, but the relationship between trait anger, alcohol consumption and anger control was similar for both genders. In conclusion, the results showed that those with high levels of trait anger and alcohol consumption showed the lowest levels of anger control in self-reported alcohol intoxicated states, and indicate the importance of separating between anger control when sober and intoxicated since anger control seems to be differently related to at least trait anger and alcohol consumption in these states.     

Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beer Holder: An Initial Investigation of the Effects of Alcohol,Attractiveness, Warmth,and Competence on the Objectifying Gaze in Men

Despite literature revealing the adverse consequences of objectifying gazes for women, little work has empirically examined origins of objectifying gazes by perceivers. Integrating alcohol myopia and objectification theories, we examined the effects of alcohol as well as perceived female attractiveness, warmth, and competence on objectifying gazes. Specifically, male undergraduates (n?=?49) from a large U.S. Midwestern university were administered either an alcoholic or placebo beverage. After consumption, participants were asked to focus on the appearance or personality (counterbalanced) of pictured women who were previously rated as high, average, or low in attractiveness, warmth, and competence. Replicating previous work, appearance focus increased objectifying gazes as measured by decreased visual dwell time on women’s faces and increased dwell time on women’s bodies. Additionally, alcohol increased objectifying gazes. Whereas greater perceived attractiveness increased objectifying gazes, more perceived warmth and perceived competence decreased objectifying gazes. Furthermore, the effects of warmth and competence perceptions on objectifying gazes were moderated by alcohol condition; intoxicated participants objectified women low in warmth and competence to a greater extent than did sober participants. Implications for understanding men’s objectifying perceptions of women are addressed, shedding light on potential interventions for clinicians and policymakers to reduce alcohol-involved objectification and related sexual aggression.     

Alcohol consumption,dating relationships,and preliminary sexual outcomes in collegiate natural drinking groups

This study tested the effects of committed relationships and presence of dates on alcohol consumption and preliminary sexual outcomes in natural drinking groups (NDGs). Undergraduate drinkers (N = 302) answered an online questionnaire on their most recent participation in a NDG. The interaction between relationship commitment and presence of a date on alcohol consumption was significant. Among students not in committed relationships, those dating within their NDG reported heavier drinking than those not dating. Students in committed relationships drank less than those who were not committed only when their partners were present. The positive correlation between drinking and sexual contact was significant only for those who were not in committed relationships. Implications for future research and interventions are discussed.     

The Influence of Observed Alcohol Consumption on Perceptions of Initiation of Sexual Activity in a College Dating Situation

Corcoran and Bell (1990) found differences between men and women's expectancies for the likelihood of sexual intercourse on a first date depending on how much the other had to drink. The present study examined the subjects' perceptions of likelihood of male and female initiation of sexual intercourse in a story in which the drinking of male or female characters was varied. Subjects read a story of a first date in which one character. either the male or female, consumed a couple of cocktails. The other character either "also had a couple of cocktails.""drank soft drinks," or "became slightly intoxicated." A manipulation check showed that the subjects were responding to story variables in their ratings of characters intoxication. Men were perceived to be more likely than women to initiate intercourse across all drinking conditions, although results indicate that all subjects believed that sexual activity was more likely to be initiated when story characters consumed alcohol rather than soft drinks. These results further demonstrated that this expectancy for initiation of sex appears to be triggered by the presence of alcohol and did not significantly increase for a higher dose of alcohol. More research is necessary to clarify the role of alcohol in sexuality among adolescents and young adults.     

Minority Stress and the Risk of Unwanted Sexual Experiences in LGBQ Undergraduates

Sexual assault is prevalent among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) college students, but its relationship to anti-LGBQ stigma has not been established. The goal of the present study was to determine whether minority stress, specifically internalized homophobia, predicted unwanted sexual experiences among LGBQ undergraduates (N = 763), whether routine behaviors (number of consensual sexual partners and alcohol use) mediated this relationship, and whether sense of LGBTQ community was a protective factor. Significant proportions of sexual minority men (10 %), women (18 %), and non-binary or transitioning students (19 %) reported an unwanted sexual experience since entering college. Internalized homophobia was associated with greater risk of unwanted sexual experiences. It also had a negative indirect effect on unwanted sexual experience risk through a negative association with number of sexual partners. Alcohol use did not mediate the relationship between internalized homophobia and unwanted sexual experiences. Sense of LGBTQ community was associated with lower risk, mediated by lower levels of internalized homophobia. The relationships between internalized homophobia and unwanted sexual experience risk were similar for women and men. These findings demonstrate that minority stress increases LGBQ students’ risk of sexual victimization and that in-group social relationships can mitigate this risk. We argue that minority stress is an important risk factor for sexual violence. Violence prevention interventions should attempt to reduce internalized homophobia, and colleges and high schools should establish LGBQ-affirming social climates and provide resources for LGBQ students, including targeted violence prevention efforts and programs that foster a sense of supportive community.