A Match-and-Motivation Model of How Women Label Their Nonconsensual Sexual Experiences

Bibliographic Data

ID12005698
AuthorsZoë D Peterson (0000-0003-2975-1062, Department of Psychology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA, corresponding author), Charlene L Muehlenhard (University of Kansas)
Year2011
Volume35
Issue4
Pages558-570
Publication date2011-11-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychology of Women Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0361-6843 • E-ISSN: 1471-6402
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0361684311410210
OpenAlexW2129570152
LanguageEN
Citations received47
References cited32

Many rape victims are unacknowledged rape victims—they report an experience meeting researchers’ operational definitions of rape but do not label their experience as rape. The purpose of this study was to investigate women’s decisions about whether to label their experiences as rape. Participants were 77 college women (predominantly White; mean age = 19.23) who had experienced rape according to the study’s operational definition. The researchers used open-ended questionnaires and interviews to explore participants’ explanations for labeling or not labeling their experience as rape. Explanations were related to match—whether the incident matched their rape script (e.g., whether the man fit their image of a rapist; whether they fought back)—and to motivation—the perceived consequences of using the label (e.g., discomfort with thinking of the perpetrator as a rapist; feeling less self-blame vs. feeling less control or more traumatized). Over time, participants were more likely to label their experience as rape. Results suggested that individuals differ in the meanings that they ascribe to the label rape. For some individuals, labeling their experience as rape may be adaptive; for others, it may be unhelpful or even harmful. Researchers, clinicians, and advocates should use caution in imposing their own preferred labels on other women’s experiences

Blame · Developmental psychology · Feeling · Poison control · Sexual assault · Clinical Psychology · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Medicine · Psychology · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Social Psychology

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