Attitudes, Emotions, and Emotion Regulation as Underlying and In-The-Moment Predictors of Men’s Intentions to Perpetrate Sexual Assault: An Application of the I³ Model

ABSTRACT

Sexual assault is a significant problem among young men, and several underlying and in-the-moment factors are associated with this behavior. However, research has not examined how underlying factors may influence men’s in-the-moment use of emotion regulation (ER) strategies, emotional experience during sexual situations, or intentions to perpetrate sexual assault. 187 young, single men from the United States who had sex with a woman in the past year completed questionnaires, projected themselves into hypothetical sexual scenarios, and indicated how they would behave when their partner withdrew consent during these scenarios. Participants were grouped into profiles of ER strategy use, which was used as part of a model predicting sexual assault perpetration. Specifically, men with greater hostility toward women were especially likely to use a “low acting with awareness, low resignation” profile, which was associated with greater anger, impulsivity, and intentions to perpetrate. This could be attributed to the increased cognitive load, increased rumination on their partner’s refusal, or increased drive to obtain sex associated with this profile. Future research should replicate these results in a more diverse sample, and examine the efficacy of interventions redirecting participants away from a “low acting with awareness, low resignation” profile on sexual assault prevention.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary Data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2023.2288078.

Additional information

Funding

Funding support for this study was provided to the author by the Arizona State University Institute for Social Sciences Research.