Discrepant Responding across Self-Report Measures of Men's Coercive and Aggressive Sexual Strategies

Abstract

Researchers have worked to refine the measurement of women's experiences with sexual victimization. Less is known about the validity and reliability of measures that assess men's use of sexual coercion and aggression. These studies explore the consistency of men's responses to two distinct, but similar, measures of sexual coercion and aggression. The two measures both assess historical use of verbal coercion, sexual assault involving drugs or alcohol, and sexual assault through threat or force. Study 1 used college men as participants (N = 398), whereas Study 2 used a mixed sample of college and community men (N = 184). In both studies, participants’ responses were largely inconsistent across the two measures. This article explores potential measurement issues that may account for the observed reporting discrepancies and offers suggestions for future research.

Acknowledgments

Study 1 of this project was funded by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction awarded to Zoë D. Peterson. Study 2 of this project was funded by a University of Missouri–St. Louis Research Award awarded to Zoë D. Peterson.

Notes

Note. Percentages in bold represent inconsistent responding across the two measures of sexual aggression.

Note. Percentages in bold represent inconsistent responding across the two measures of sexual aggression.