Childhood and Adolescent Victimization and Perpetration of Sexual Coercion by Male and Female University Students

Abstract

This study examines the extent to which male and female university students use verbal sexual coercion and physically forced sex on a dating partner and tests a theoretical model that specifies that corporal punishment, minor forms of neglect by parents, and sexual abuse increase the probability of sexually coercing and sexually assaulting a partner, and that this relationship is partly mediated by antisocial traits and behavior. A path analysis using multinomial logistic regression was used to test the fit of the model to a convenience sample of 13,877 students in 32 nations. Both male and female students perpetrate sexual coercion, but the rates are higher for males. For both men and women, each of the three forms of prior victimization studied were associated with an increased probability of antisocial behavior, which in turn was associated with an increased probability of verbally coercing and physically forcing sex. Most of the direct paths from victimization to sexual coercion were also statistically significant. Because relatively mild victimization such as corporal punishment and seemingly innocuous forms of neglect are highly prevalent, steps to reduce their prevalence could be an import step in primary prevention of sexual coercion.

Acknowledgments

Other papers on this and related topics can be downloaded from http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2. This article is a publication of the Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824. See the Laboratory Web page (http://unhinfo.unh.edu/frl) for a program description and publications list. It is a pleasure to express appreciation to members of the 2007–2008 Family Research Laboratory Seminar for valuable comments and suggestions. The work was supported by a research grant from Department of Education and Science of Spain (AP2005-0854) and National Institute of Mental Health grant T32MH15161, and the University of New Hampshire.

Notes

†Reference group for ATB: “low ATB”; Reference group for Sexual Coercion: “No sexual coercion.” *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001; ns =not significant.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Manuel Gámez-Guadix

MANUEL GÁMEZ-GUADIX Ph.D., is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Personality and Psychological Assessment & Treatment at the University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain. He completed his doctoral dissertation in 2010 entitled “Parental Discipline and Psychological Adjustment of Children: A Cross Cultural Perspective” at Autonomous University of Madrid. In 2009 he obtained the postgraduate Master's degree in Couple and Sex Therapy. His research interests include parenting, parental discipline, marital conflict, and abuse in intimate relationships. He is currently involved in National and International projects, such as the International Parenting Study.

Murray A. Straus

MURRAY A. STRAUS is Professor of Sociology and founder and Co-Director of the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire. He has been President of the National Council on Family Relations, the Society For the Study of Social Problems, and the Eastern Sociological Society. He is the author or co-author of over 200 articles on the family, research methods, and South Asia; and 17 books, including Four Theories of Rape in American Society (Yale, 1989), Corporal Punishment by Parents in Theoretical Perspective(Yale, 2006), Beating the Devil Out of Them: Corporal Punishment in American Families(Transaction, 2001), Physical Violence in American Families: Risk Factors and Adaptations to Violence in 8,145 Families(Transaction, 1990), and Stress, Culture, and Aggression (Yale, 1995). He is widely recognized for his research on partner violence and on spanking and other legal forms of corporal punishment and for efforts to include reducing corporal punishment as part of primary prevention of child physical abuse and partner violence.

Scott L. Hershberger

SCOTT L. HERSHBERGER , Ph.D. is formerly Quantitative Professor of Psychology at the California State University, Long Beach and is now Global Director of Survey Design at Harris Interactive. He is a past associate editor of the journal Structural Equation Modeling, and is an elected member of the Royal Statistical Society and the International Statistical Institute. He has authored or co-authored numerous articles and several books on multivariate analysis and psychometrics