The Cultural Context of Nondisclosure of Alcohol-Involved Acquaintance Rape Among Asian American College Women: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

With high college enrollment and increasing alcohol use, Asian American (AA) college women may be at particular risk for experiencing alcohol-involved acquaintance rape. Although AA women have expressed the weakest intentions to report rape when compared to other ethnic groups, cultural factors influencing these intentions remain unexamined. Guided by grounded theory, 17 self-identified AA college women were interviewed about how the average AA college woman would respond to an alcohol-involved acquaintance rape. Despite awareness of benefits of disclosing rape, participants emphasized that nondisclosure would be the normative response. Three themes emerged from participants: institutional, sociocultural, and psychological contexts of nondisclosure. At an institutional level, nondisclosure referenced mental health and police services, which included Asian stereotypes and mistrust of police. Within a sociocultural context, rape nondisclosure focused on negative consequences on relationships with parents and, to a lesser extent, on friendships. Emotional avoidance and not labeling an acquaintance rape as rape were psychological strategies for rape nondisclosure. Participant's conceptualizations of mental and physical health concerns, specifically post-rape concerns, were framed within sociocultural/macrostructural contexts and may not match that of the more individualistic U.S. mainstream conceptualizations of health. Culturally sensitive rape education may be more effective in increasing rape prevention and support.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by the following grants: 1R01AA016281-01A2 PI: William H. George; 1F31AA018237-01A1 PI: Kelly H. Koo. This research was also supported in part by the University of Washington (UW) Institute for Ethnic Studies in the United States and the Graduate School Fund for Excellence and Innovation of the UW Graduate School. Last, we wish to thank our devoted research team, Jenny Chong, Junny Kim, and Jolynn Siu, for their invaluable volunteer work.