Citation

Haugen AD, Rieck SM, Salter PS, Phillips NL. Basic Appl. Soc. Psychchol. 2018; 40(1): 18-35.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/01973533.2017.1398091

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Recent changes in the U.S. Justice Department's definition of rape have renewed its public attention. The present study applied a lay theories approach to the assessment of what college students currently think about rape. Participants (n = 272) defined rape in their own words; responses were qualitatively analyzed and prominent themes identified. Major themes included the physicality of rape and the victim's response; minor themes included the potential for victims to be physically harmed and rape's gendered nature, among others. These findings provide insight into how this demographic conceptualizes and theorizes rape, which is an important step in reducing its prevalence.

Language: en