EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL INTOXICATION AND VICTIMIZATION HISTORY ON WOMEN'S SEXUAL ASSAULT RESISTANCE INTENTIONS: THE ROLE OF SECONDARY COGNITIVE APPRAISALS

This study used an experimental paradigm to investigate the role of secondary cognitive appraisals in women's sexual assault resistance and whether these appraisals mediated influences of alcohol and prior victimization. After consuming a beverage (control, placebo, moderate, or high dose), 351 women projected themselves into a simulated interaction with a sexually aggressive man. Four types of secondary appraisals (shock at the man's behavior, concern about his feelings, uncertainty in the situation, conflict about what to do) and three resistance strategies (assertive, polite, passive) were examined. Path modeling revealed that, as expected, intoxication and prior sexual victimization influenced secondary appraisals, which in turn influenced intended resistance. Prior adult sexual assault (ASA) and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) also had direct effects: ASA negatively predicted assertive resistance and CSA positively predicted passivity. Findings suggest that secondary appraisals are key targets for intervention to facilitate effective resistance, thereby reducing the risk of adult sexual victimization.     

Self-efficacy as a health-protective resource in teachers? A biopsychological approach

OBJECTIVE: To examine the psychobiological correlates of self-efficacy in teachers. DESIGN: Study 1 examined associations between teacher self-efficacy and cardiac activation on a working day and Study 2 assessed the cortisol morning response in teachers with varying levels of teacher self-efficacy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Teacher self-efficacy was assessed by questionnaire. In Study 1 heart rate, heart rate variability, and locomotor activity were recorded by 22 hours ambulatory monitoring and subjective measures of stress and strain were obtained. Study 2 assessed the cortisol response to awakening to obtain a measure of HPA-axis activation and teachers filled in a questionnaire on physical complaints. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Study 1 found that self-efficacy proved protective for psychological well-being. Moreover, after controlling for locomotor activity, demographic, and lifestyle variables, self-efficacy was associated with elevated heart rate and attenuated heart rate variability during school and leisure time, respectively, but not during the night, thus questioning the health-implications of self-efficacy. Study 2 found that teachers high in self-efficacy exhibited an attenuated cortisol response to awakening and fewer cardiac complaints. The results of both studies are compatible with the view that teacher self-efficacy might act as a physiological toughening agent with possibly favorable health outcomes.