Rape-Related Beliefs and Social Reactions

Many agree that sexual violence is a pervasive problem, but there is less disagreement regarding how to define or label it. Recent research has determined that rape-related beliefs are the strongest predictors for how both victims and non-victims conceptualize and label unwanted sexual experiences. What is less understood is the way that this conceptualization influences how non-victims respond to a disclosure. The current study sought to fill this gap by examining how rape-related beliefs affect the definitional and labeling process and how this process affects responses to a disclosure of sexual violence in a sample of non-victims. Participants included 119 female college students (Mage = 19.23, SD = 1.98; 81% White). Results revealed that endorsing distorted rape-related attitudes was a significant predictor for how one labeled one of the vignettes (i.e. “seduction rape” vignette), such that having more distorted rape-related attitudes led to labeling the experience as something other than rape (i.e. a miscommunication or a mistake). Results also revealed that this conceptualization subsequently affected responses for one of the vignettes (i.e. “seduction rape” vignette), such that those who labeled it as something other than rape were more likely to respond more negatively and less positively to the victim. These results suggest that endorsing rape-related beliefs can affect the conceptualization of an experience and that this conceptualization can affect responses to a disclosure. Implications and future directions are discussed

Raped-Related Beliefs and Social Reactions

Many agree that sexual violence is a pervasive problem, but there is less agreement regarding how to classify and define various experiences of rape. Research has demonstrated that the beliefs one holds about rape are the strongest indicator for how both victims and non-victims of sexual assault perceive and classify unwanted sexual experiences. What is less understood is the way that this perception influences how non-victims respond to a victim’s disclosure of sexual assault. The current study sought to fill this gap. Participants included 119 female college students (Mage = 19.23, SD = 1.98; 81% White). Results revealed that endorsing distorted beliefs about rape was a significant predictor for how one labeled one of the vignettes (i.e. “seduction rape” vignette), such that having more distorted beliefs about rape led to labeling the experience as something other than rape (i.e. a miscommunication or a mistake). Results also revealed that this perception subsequently affected responses for one of the vignettes (i.e. “seduction rape” vignette), such that those who labeled it as something other than rape were more likely to respond more negatively and less positively to the victim. These results suggest that endorsing distorted beliefs about rape can affect the perception of experience and that this perception can affect responses to a disclosure. Implications and future directions are discussed

Rape-Related Beliefs and Social Reactions

Many agree that sexual violence is a pervasive problem, but there is less disagreement regarding how to define or label it. Recent research has determined that rape-related beliefs are the strongest predictors for how both victims and non-victims conceptualize and label unwanted sexual experiences. What is less understood is the way that this conceptualization influences how non-victims respond to a disclosure. The current study sought to fill this gap by examining how rape-related beliefs affect the definitional and labeling process and how this process affects responses to a disclosure of sexual violence in a sample of non-victims. Participants included 119 female college students (Mage = 19.23, SD = 1.98; 81% White). Results revealed that endorsing distorted rape-related attitudes was a significant predictor for how one labeled one of the vignettes (i.e. “seduction rape” vignette), such that having more distorted rape-related attitudes led to labeling the experience as something other than rape (i.e. a miscommunication or a mistake). Results also revealed that this conceptualization subsequently affected responses for one of the vignettes (i.e. “seduction rape” vignette), such that those who labeled it as something other than rape were more likely to respond more negatively and less positively to the victim. These results suggest that endorsing rape-related beliefs can affect the conceptualization of an experience and that this conceptualization can affect responses to a disclosure. Implications and future directions are discussed

Rape-Related Beliefs and Social Reactions

DRAFT DO NOT CIRCULATE Many agree that sexual violence is a pervasive problem, but there is less disagreement regarding how to define or label it. Recent research has determined that rape-related beliefs are the strongest predictors for how both victims and non-victims conceptualize and label unwanted sexual experiences. What is less understood is the way that this conceptualization influences how non-victims respond to a disclosure. The current study sought to fill this gap by examining how rape-related beliefs affect the definitional and labeling process and how this process affects responses to a disclosure of sexual violence in a sample of non-victims. Participants included 119 female college students (Mage = 19.23, SD = 1.98; 81% White). Results revealed that rape-related attitudes were significant predictors for how one labeled one of the vignettes (i.e. “seduction rape” vignette), such that having more distorted rape-related attitudes led to labeling the experience as something other than rape (i.e. a miscommunication or a mistake). Results also revealed that this conceptualization subsequently affected responses for one of the vignettes (i.e. “seduction rape” vignette), such that those who labeled it as something other than rape were more likely to respond more negatively and less positively to the victim. These results suggest that one’s rape-related beliefs can affect the way they conceptualize an experience and this conceptualization can affect responses to a disclosure. Implications and future directions are discussed. Keywords: rape-related beliefs, disclosure, negative reactions, positive reaction