It's Her Fault: Student Acceptance of Rape Myths On Two College Campuses

Rebecca M Hayes; Rebecca L Abbott; Savannah Cook

doi:10.1177/1077801216630147

It's Her Fault: Student Acceptance of Rape Myths On Two College Campuses

Violence Against Women. 2016 Nov;22(13):1540-1555. doi: 10.1177/1077801216630147. Epub 2016 Feb 15.

Authors

Rebecca M Hayes¹, Rebecca L Abbott², Savannah Cook²

Affiliations

¹ Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, USA hayes2r@cmich.edu.
² Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, USA.

PMID: 26883297
DOI: 10.1177/1077801216630147

Abstract

The present study examined factors that are associated with an individual's adherence to rape myths at two colleges located in the same town. Particularly, we examined sex, race, and participants' drinking behavior in relation to rape myth acceptance. We found that males and heavy drinkers are more likely than females and non/low drinkers to adhere to rape myths. An interaction between males and drinking was also found indicating a moderated effect of gender on rape myth acceptance. In addition, the college with sexual assault programming did not experience a lowered acceptance of rape myths compared with the college with no programming.

Keywords: college students; rape culture; rape myths; sexual assault; victim blaming.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Alcohol Drinking / adverse effects
Alcohol Drinking / psychology
Female
Humans
Interpersonal Relations*
Male
Middle Aged
Midwestern United States
Multivariate Analysis
Psychometrics / instrumentation
Psychometrics / methods
Psychometrics / statistics & numerical data
Rape / psychology*
Rape / statistics & numerical data
Regression Analysis
Students / psychology*
Students / statistics & numerical data
Universities / organization & administration
Universities / standards