Kim S. Ménard

Rural-Urban Differences in Sexual Victimization and Reporting - Analyses Using UCR and Crisis Center Data

In this study, the authors analyzed data from Uniform Crime Reports and from rape crisis centers in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania. Although absolute numbers of sexual victimization cases reported to rape crisis centers were higher in urban counties, rates of sexual victimization were higher in rural counties, particularly those with above median proportions of female officeholders in the county. Subsequent analyses indicated this effect was not related to the provision of victim services but could be related to a better educated population being more likely to use such services. In terms of reporting to the police, urban counties and counties with higher levels of assaults by strangers had higher rates of reporting to the police, although these effects were somewhat qualified by an interaction of the two variables. Additional analyses suggest that whether the county is urban or rural is related to the amount of funding allocated to victim services programs.

An Integrative Approach to the Assessment of Narcissism

Narcissism research is poorly calibrated across fields of study in part due to confusion over how to integrate normal and pathological descriptions of narcissism. We argue that pathological and normal narcissism can be integrated in a single model that organizes around self-regulation mechanisms. We present theoretical and empirical support for this interpretation, and demonstrate that modeling pathological and normal narcissism as 2 dimensions underlying the narcissistic character can help to resolve some of the inconsistencies in the field regarding how to best assess adaptive and maladaptive expressions of narcissism.

Normative advice to campus crime victims: effects of gender, age, and alcohol

Three studies investigated the appropriateness of calling the police as a function of crime, victim, and subject factors. In particular, the studies focused on whether and how the victim’s consumption of alcohol affected normative advice to report the crime, as opposed to other options. Across the three studies, subjects viewed reporting as more appropriate for female victims, for victims who were 21 or older, and for victims who had not been drinking. In addition, females were more likely than males to believe reporting to the police was appropriate whereas males were more likely than females to favor some type of private action. Subjects viewed reporting as particularly inappropriate when the victim was underage and had been drinking. Results suggest that, because of the perceived stigma attached to victims who have been drinking, even serious victimizations may go unreported.

Prevalence and Processing of Child Sexual Abuse: A Multi-Data-Set Analysis of Urban and Rural Counties

This study investigated how contextual factors affect the processing of child sexual abuse cases, from reporting to sentencing. We analyzed three types of data: (a) data compiled by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape from monthly reports by all rape crisis centers in the state; (b) data from the Pennsylvania Office of Children, Youth, and Families; and (c) sentencing data from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing. Results indicated that aggregate rates of reporting, substantiation, and sentencing were affected by county levels of expenditure. In addition, reporting and substantiation were affected by county-level factors, such that rural counties, counties with a higher percentage of individuals living below the poverty level, counties with higher expenditures, and counties with a higher percentage of stranger assaults had higher rates of child sexual abuse reporting.

Gender Differences in Intimate Partner Recidivism A 5-Year Follow-Up

Research shows that women perpetrate intimate partner violence (IPV) and that their pattern of offending differs from that of men. Using arrest and court records from a large Midwestern city, this study examines 596 cases of IPV, 15.5% of which were perpetrated by women. Separate logistic regression models for men and women suggest there are both similarities and differences in factors that predict recidivism. Among both women and men, non-Whites as compared to Whites and drug users as compared to nondrug users are significantly more likely to recidivate. Additionally, for men, a history of probation or parole predicts recidivism, whereas for women, severity of the assault and having ended the relationship with their victim predicts recidivism. Policy and theoretical implications are discussed.

Predicting Overt and Cyber Stalking Perpetration by Male and Female College Students

In this study, self-report student surveys on early childhood maltreatment, attachment styles, alcohol expectancies, and narcissistic personality traits are examined to determine their influence on stalking behavior. Two subtypes of stalking were measured using Spitzberg and Cupach’s (2008) Obsessive Relational Intrusion: cyber stalking (one scale) and overt stalking (comprised of all remaining scales). As t tests indicated that men and women differed significantly on several variables, OLS regression models were run separately for men (N = 807) and women (N = 934). Results indicated that childhood sexual maltreatment predicted both forms of stalking for men and women. For men, narcissistic vulnerability and its interaction with sexual abuse predicted stalking behavior (overt stalking R2 = 16% and cyber stalking R2 = 11%). For women, insecure attachment (for both types of stalking) and alcohol expectancies (for cyber stalking) predicted stalking behavior (overt stalking R2 = 4% and cyber stalking R2 = 9%). We discuss the methodological and policy implications of these findings.

Stress, Coping, Alcohol Use, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among an International Sample of Police Officers: Does Gender Matter?

This study controls for officer characteristics (i.e., age, race, children living in the home, relationship status, time in policing, military experience, community size, and country) while examining the effects of critical incidents, social stressors, and coping on alcohol use and posttraumatic stress disorder among men (N = 1,144) and women (N = 309) using self-report surveys from an international sample of police. Gender differences were found in the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test but not in posttraumatic stress disorder models. The critical incidents by coping by social stressors three-way interaction was significantly associated with men’s, but not women’s, drinking, and the effects of critical incidents were positive for men but negative for women.

DSM-5 pathological personality traits and intimate partner violence among male and female college students

The purpose of this study was to examine associations between pathological personality traits identified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed., DSM-5) Section III alternative model of personality disorder (using the Personality Inventory for DSM-5; PID-5) and intimate partner violence (IPV; using the Conflict Tactics Scale [CTS]) in a sample of male (N = 1,106) and female (N = 1,338) college students. In this sample, self and partner perpetration of CTS Relationship Violence and CTS Negotiation tactics loaded onto 2 separate factors. The PID-5 facets and domains were differentially associated with these factors for both men and women. Facets and domains explained 10.1%–16.1% and 5.8%–10.6% of the variance in CTS Relationship Violence tactics, respectively. For both genders, detachment was positively associated with relationship violence. Antagonism was uniquely associated with relationship violence for women, whereas disinhibition was uniquely associated with relationship violence for men. Associations with lower level pathological personality facets were also examined. Overall, results indicate that DSM-5 pathological personality traits are associated with IPV reported by both men and women.

Psychopathy moderates the relationship between time in treatment and levels of empathy in incarcerated male sexual offenders.

This study examined whether psychopathy moderated the relationship between time in treatment and forms of empathy in a sample of incarcerated male sexual offenders (N = 58). Empathy was assessed as a general personality trait as well as in attitudes toward specific victim groups (children, women).The three empathy measures were submitted to principal components analysis with oblique rotation, revealing a 3-component solution: general empathy, hostility toward women, and empathy for children. Hierarchical linear regression analyses demonstrated that level of psychopathy significantly moderated the effects of time in treatment on levels of general and victim-specific empathy, such that offenders with higher levels of psychopathy did not exhibit greater empathy with longer reported time in treatment. In contrast, offenders with lower levels of psychopathy exhibited greater empathy with longer time in treatment. Implications for treatment planning for sexual offenders are discussed.

Attachment and personality predicts engagement in sexual harassment by male and female college students

The purpose of this study was to examine a trait model of personality (Five-Factor Model) as a mediator of the relationship between attachment styles and sexually harassing behavior in a sample of male (N = 148) and female (N = 278) college students. We found that gender (male) and low Agreeableness predicted engaging in sexual harassment and all three of its subtypes; gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion. Further, low Conscientiousness predicted overall sexual harassment, gender harassment, and unwanted sexual attention. Personality traits mediated the relationship between insecure attachment styles (Preoccupation with Relationships and Relationships as Secondary) and sexually harassing behaviors. Thus, factors beyond gender can help predict students’ propensity to sexually harass others.