Citation

Scronce CA, Corcoran KJ. Violence Against Women 1995; 1(3): 241-253.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12322334

Abstract

This study examines the influence of the victim's consumption of alcohol on perceptions in stranger and acquaintance rape. Participants were composed of 218 male and 227 female undergraduates. They participated in group discussions and were given information materials containing demographic background questions, a hypothetical scenario involving rape or attempted rape, and questions relating to their impressions of the story and the characters. Likert-type scales were used to rate the degree to which the participants thought the woman was responsible for the incident, and to rate the cautiousness/carelessness of the female character. Results revealed that the victim was rated significantly more responsible for the attack when the perpetrator was a stranger, when the victim drank alcohol, and when the outcome was a completed rape. Although both males and females rated the victim as more careless when she had been drinking, only female participants rated the drinking victim as more responsible than the nondrinking victim. The study therefore concluded that alcohol consumption by a victim of sexual assault might lead to more negative perceptions about the victim; wherein they are viewed as more careless and culpable for the assault.

Language: en