Influence of victim, perpetrator, and research participant gender on rape myth beliefs and perceived occurrence of sexual assault
- WCU Author/Contributor (non-WCU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Amanda Kate Peirano (Creator)
- Institution
- Western Carolina University (WCU )
- Web Site: http://library.wcu.edu/
- Advisor
- David T. Solomon
Abstract: Although there is extensive research regarding the negative effects of rape and rape myth beliefs regarding women (e.g., juries acquitting perpetrators, fear of not being believed by authorities, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.,) there is a lack of research regarding the negative consequences of rape myth beliefs pertaining to men. Additionally, when examining bystander rape myth beliefs, there is little to no research on transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals. This study analyzed if victim, perpetrator, and research participant gender affect identification of sexual assault. Differences in the acceptance of male rape myth beliefs based on different vignette scenarios with various combinations of victim and perpetrator gender were analyzed. These factors were measured through the utilization of four vignettes containing different victim and perpetrator gender combinations, and the gender of participants (cisgender woman, cisgender man, or TGD individuals). Results demonstrated that gender identity does have a three-way interaction effect on level of sexual assault agreement, but there were no significant differences in agreement level across gender identity regardless of vignette characteristics. Additionally, there was a nonsignificant three-way interaction between gender of the victim, gender of the perpetrator, and gender of the research participant on participants’ level of male rape myth beliefs after reading the vignettes. A significant interaction effect was found between the victim’s gender identity and perpetrator’s gender identity on results of the male rape myth belief scale. Follow-up analyses demonstrated cisgender men are less likely to agree an instance of sexual assault occurred when a man is a victim and a woman is a perpetrator, as well as hold higher rape myth beliefs.
Influence of victim, perpetrator, and research participant gender on rape myth beliefs and perceived occurrence of sexual assault
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Created on 4/1/2024
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2024
- Keywords
- Gender diverse, Rape myth beliefs, Sexual assault, Sexual victimization, Transgender
- Subjects
- Rape victims
- Sexual assault
- Witnesses
- Gender identity
- Transgender people