Rape myth acceptance of students: The influence of social groups

Abstract

Objective The purpose of the study was two-fold. The first objective was to determine the level of rape myth acceptance of college students. The second objective was to determine the impact of social group membership on rape myth. Participants: 316 undergraduate students were recruited in spring of 2016. Methods: Surveys distributed to students to gauge rape myth acceptance using McMahon and Farmer’s Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance scale along with social group belongingness of sports, Greek life, and other student organizations. Results: Data analysis indicated students do not accept rape myths. Data specified no statistical significance, unlike past research, in social group membership such as Greek life and athletics in predicting rape myth acceptance. Conclusion: There is a need to further explore social group membership in its various forms to explain rape myths and why patterns of agreement still exist in this population.

Keywords:

• Illinois rape myth acceptance
• rape
• university student

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from Carroll University.