Similarities and Differences in Women's Sexual Assault Experiences Based on Tactics Used by the Perpetrator

Bibliographic Data

ID12004166
AuthorsAntonia Abbey (0000-0002-5448-4659, Wayne State University, corresponding author), Renee BeShears (Wayne State University), Renee S BeShears (Wayne State University), A Monique Clinton‐Sherrod (RTI International), A Monique Clinton-Sherrod (Research Triangle Institute, Raleigh, North Carolina), Patrick Mcauslan (0000-0001-7360-5981, University of Michigan–Dearborn)
Year2004
Volume28
Issue4
Pages323-332
Publication date2004-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychology of Women Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0361-6843 • E-ISSN: 1471-6402
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1111/j.1471-6402.2004.00149.x
PMID26257466
PMCIDPMC4527559
OpenAlexW2019878993
LanguageEN
Citations received44
References cited38

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

Affect (linguistics · Anal sex · Coercion (linguistics · Condom · Injury prevention · Medical emergency · Poison control · Population · Random digit dialing · Sexual assault · Sexual coercion · Suicide prevention · Clinical Psychology · Demography · Intimate Partner and Family Violence · Medicine · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Social Psychology

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