NCJ Number
176479
Editor(s)
E S Byers,
L F O'Sullivan
Date Published
1996
Length
202 pages
Annotation
The nine articles in this volume address theoretical and empirical issues regarding the nature, causes, and consequences of sexual coercion in dating relationships.
Abstract
One paper reviews aspects of the traditional sexual script that supports male sexual aggression and presents a program of research designed to test empirically some of the assumptions inherent in this theory. In an effort to remedy the lack of a theoretical base in research on attitudes toward sexual coercion, a paper reports on a study that incorporated social psychological theory which has established that attitudes consist of affective, behavioral, and cognitive components. This research identifies which components of attitudes are most likely to underlie sexually coercive behavior. Another paper argues that sexual coercion should be examined in the broader framework of the use of influence, because sexual coercion is an extreme means of influencing a partner to engage in undesired sexual activity. Other papers challenge the view that sexual coercion is equally a problem for women and men, examine symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in a sample of college women who reported sexually coercive experiences, and challenge many of the assumptions that have been made about the inherently detrimental nature of sexually coercive experiences. A paper argues that current concepts of women's sexuality are inadequate, since they focus almost exclusively on strategies for resisting and avoiding male sexual coercion. The final paper challenges the promotion of the expression "Just Say No" as a useful strategy for countering sexual coercion and presents a repertoire of practical preventive measures women can use in coercive sexual dating situations. References accompany each paper. For the papers that examine the validity of the hypothesis of the traditional sexual script in sexual coercion and the attitudes that underlie sexual coercion among acquaintances, see NCJ-176480-81.