ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2164-6121

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Philosophy (Ph.D)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Elissa J Brown

Second Advisor

Andrea J Bergman

Third Advisor

Melissa Peckins

Abstract

In the United States, one in five women reports experiencing sexual assault while in college. Rape myths, or stereotypical beliefs that serve to blame survivors (i.e., “She Asked For It” and “She Lied”) and exonerate sexual assault perpetrators (“He Didn’t Mean To”), may influence how women conceptualize their own sexual assault experiences and relatedly, their post-assault functioning. Several demographic characteristics, including race and ethnicity, generational status, education level, sexual orientation, and religiosity, have been found to be associated with rape myth acceptance (RMA). Researchers have reported mixed findings, however, regarding the association between sexual assault history and RMA. This study aimed to prospectively examine the impact of new sexual assault experiences (i.e., acquiring new knowledge of a sexual assault survivor or having a personal experience of sexual assault) on change in RMA. The current study consisted of subsamples of college women. At baseline, 240 women were examined. At follow-up, a subsample consisting of 79 women was examined. Participants completed surveys on demographic characteristics, engagement in activities that promote women’s rights and sexual assault prevention, RMA, and sexual assault experiences. At baseline, cross-sectional design was employed to examine the interactive effect of knowing a sexual assault survivor and personal history of sexual assault on RMA. Qualitative methods were employed to further understand the nature of RMA among a subsample of sexual assault survivors. At follow-up, repeated measures were used to prospectively examine the impact of new sexual assault experiences as a moderator of change in RMA. At baseline, the interaction between knowing a sexual assault survivor and personal history of sexual assault contributed unique variance to the perception that “She Asked For It.” For sexual assault survivors, knowing another survivor was protective with regards to RMA, highlighting the importance of creating supportive environments for disclosure to occur among college women. Prospective, longitudinal examination revealed that although change occurred in the perception that “He Didn’t Mean To,” new sexual assault experiences were not associated with this change. Additional public health and clinical implications will be discussed.

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