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College Students’ Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence and Rape Myth Acceptance

College Students’ Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence and Rape Myth Acceptance. Rebecca Mercado Thornton Mentor: Dr. Lesley Withers Communication September 28, 2007. Why This Topic?. Sexual Aggression Peer Advocates Future programming Prevalence. Definitions.

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College Students’ Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence and Rape Myth Acceptance

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  1. College Students’ Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence and Rape Myth Acceptance Rebecca Mercado Thornton Mentor: Dr. Lesley Withers Communication September 28, 2007

  2. Why This Topic? • Sexual Aggression Peer Advocates • Future programming • Prevalence

  3. Definitions • Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) • Actual or threatened • Physical/sexual violence or psychological/emotional abuse • Directed at spouse/ex-spouse, current/former boy/girlfriend, or current/former dating partner (Swanberg, Logan, & Macke, 2005) • Rape Myths • Attitudes/beliefs that are generally false • Widely and persistently held • Deny and justify male sexual aggression against women (Lonsway & Fitzgerald,1995)

  4. Background • Numerous studies examined general IPV facts and rape myth acceptance numbers. However, there are: • Contradictory findings on ethnicity and race as a factor (Ramirez; Smith et al., 2005) • Few that examine college students’ misconceptions about IPV and rape myths (Goetz et al., 2006; Miller & Bukva, 2001; Nabors, 2006; Witte et al., 2006)

  5. Critique • Few in ethnically homogenous regions • Contradictory findings for effects of ethnicity on IPV • Majority of research focused on cohabitating couples, not dating couples • Many studies looked at sexual assault, not perceptions of IPV • Little known about factors affecting college students’ perceptions of IPV and rape myths

  6. Research Questions • Do college women and men differ in their perceptions of IPV? • Do college women and men differ in their acceptance of rape myths? • Is ethnicity a factor in college students’ perceptions of IPV? • Is ethnicity a factor in students’ acceptance of rape myths?

  7. Methods • Participants (N = 241);convenience sample recruited: • Online: Facebook.com paid advertisements (5 days; 10,000 views per day) • In class: Summer 2007 • Questionnaire on Surveymonkey.com • Informed consent • Burt’s (1980) Rape Myth Acceptance (RMA) scale,  = .86 • Burt’s (1980) Acceptance of Interpersonal Violence (AIV) scale,  = .57 • Lonsway & Fitzgerald’s (1995) Attitudes Towards Violence (ATV) scale,  = .87 • Lonsway & Fitzgerald (1995) Rape Myth (RM) scale,  = .92

  8. Results Research Question 1 Males had significantly more positive attitudes toward violence than females on both measures ATV scale: t (221) = 4.145, p < .001 AIV scale: t (222) = 2.43, p =.016 Research Question 2 Males were significantly more accepting of rape myths than females on both measures RMA scale: t (222) = 4.43, p < .001 RM Scale: t (221) = 3.82, p < .001

  9. Results • Research Question 3 • Is ethnicity a factor in college students’ perceptions of IPV? • ATV scale: No significant differences found, F (6,216) = .88, p < .508 • AIV scale: Significant differences found, F (6, 217) = 2.75, p < .014 • Post hoc analyses of AIV scale: Some evidence that Latinos may be more accepting of violence than white students (LSD, MD = .723, p = .003; Scheffe, MD = .723, p = .168)

  10. Results • Research Question 4 • Students of color were not significantly more accepting of rape myths than white students on either measure • RMA scale: t (222) =1.61, p =.108 • Rape Myth scale: t (221) = 1.529, p =.128

  11. Discussion • Results raise concerns about effects of gender socialization in the U.S. • Female objectification in the media is a concern • Future research: • Recruit more male participants, students of color • Further compare Latinos and white students’ perceptions of IPV • Investigate potential sources of gender stereotypes for Latino racial communities • Results can be used to aid universities’ attempts to reduce IPV; campus educational programs can be tailored to prevent IPV situations

  12. College Students’ Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence and Rape Myth Acceptance Questions?

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