Lana Stermac

Sexual Assault of Adult Males

The circumstances and characteristics of sexual assaults against adult males presenting to a crisis unit in a large metropolitan area were examined. Twenty-nine men, ranging in age from 18 to 65, who were victims of sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults, were seen over a 16-month period. Information extracted from the unit database included client demographics and personal history, assault characteristics, and presentation information. Twenty-five (86%) of the reported assaults involved male perpetrators, one involved a single female perpetrator, and two involved both male and female perpetrators. Half the male-male assaults and all the female-male assaults were acquaintance sexual assaults. Only a minority of the stranger assaults were suggestive of antigay violence. Most victims were young gay men, many of whom had physical or cognitive disabilities making them particularly vulnerable. The results suggest a need for increased awareness of acquaintance sexual assault in adult males.

The Role of Cognition in Sexual Assault

As even a casual perusal of the psychological literature on sexual assault reveals, the areas of investigation receiving the widest research attention seem to be those related to the constructs of deviant sexual arousal, heterosexual social skills, or the sexual and drug history of the offender. While it has been noted that cognitive variables may be especially relevant to work in these areas, cognition in sexual assault remains virtually unstudied (Lanyon, 1986; Stermac & Segal, in press). The reasons for this may be manifold, yet one explanation which suggests itself is that psychosocial investigations of sexual assault have yet to experience the “cognitive revolution” which has permeated the study of other problem behaviors (e.g., unipolar depression, Segal & Shaw, 1986; anxiety disorders, Ingram & Kendall, 1987). Alternatively, within the area of sexual assault the dominant theoretical construct of deviant sexual arousal has, up till recently, held sway over competing etiological accounts such that it has contributed to the development of a number of unimodal theories which leave little room for additional explanatory constructs (Abel, Barlow, Blanchard, & Guild, 1977). As the explanatory power of models based solely on the role of deviant sexual arousal becomes increasingly questioned (Baxter, Marshall, Barbaree, Davidson, & Malcolm, 1984), the need for multimodal models, which integrate other factors implicated in the commission of sexual assault, becomes apparent.

Social and Cultural Factors in Sexual Assault

The search for causes of sexual aggression has included the examination of many factors, including intra- and interpersonal as well as social and cultural variables. The role of social processes has received considerable attention in this area due to various hypotheses about the relationship between social interaction and sexual aggression.

Stranger and Acquaintance Sexual Assault of Adult Males

This study examined victim and assault characteristics and the nature and extent of coercion, violence, and physical injuries among adult male victims of sexual assaults. Client records of three groups presenting to a sexual assault care center were included: males assaulted by a stranger (n = 64), males assaulted by an acquaintance (n = 81), and females assaulted by an acquaintance (n = 106). Study results revealed that male victims of sexual assault tended to be young, single men who reported high rates of vulnerabilities such as homelessness and physical, psychiatric, and cognitive disabilities. Male stranger assailant victims were more likely to experience assaults involving weapons and physical violence. Injuries sustained by victims and services delivered at the sexual assault care center were similar for both male and female clients. The results of this study reveal new information about violence in male sexual assaults and the vulnerability of the male victims.

Anger Control Treatment for Forensic Patients

This study evaluates the efficacy of a short-term cognitive-behavioral anger control intervention with forensic patients. Forty subjects participated in the study and were randomly assigned to an anger control treatment or to a control group. The anger control group consisted of six one-hour sessions of cognitive-behavioral and stress inoculation treatment while the control group consisted of a psychoeducational treatment of comparable length. Subjects were assessed pre- and postintervention on measures of anger, impulsivity, and coping strategies. The results of the study demonstrated that following treatment, anger control subjects reported significantly lower levels of anger than did control subjects. In addition, following participation in the anger control treatment, subjects reported a greater use of cognitive restructuring strategies and less use of self-denigration strategies than did the controls. The overall results of this study support the efficacy of a short-term cognitive-behavioral treatment for anger control with forensic patients. The potential use of this short-term intervention for the prediction and assessment of treatability is also discussed.

Childhood Risk Factors for Women's Sexual Victimization

The purpose of this study was to examine a broad range of childhood experiences associated with risk for sexual assault victimization in adulthood. Childhood experiences hypothesized to enhance vulnerability for adult sexual victimization, including maltreatment experiences perpetrated by adults and children as well as family composition variables, were examined. A community sample of 277 women attending outpatient clinics at an urban hospital provided retrospective self-report regarding family composition and cohesion, childhood maltreatment experiences perpetrated by adults and peers, and adulthood victimization. Results of logistic regression analysis indicate that early sexual experiences with peers, childhood sexual abuse by adults, father or father figures absence as a primary caregiver in childhood, perceived level of closeness to father in adolescence, and neglect by mother pose significant risk for subsequent adult victimization

Violence in Known-Assailant Sexual Assaults

This study examined characteristics of sexual assaults among a community-based sample of 1,162 women that were committed by unknown and known assailants. Assailant groups were examined on a continuum of familiarity that included strangers (30.6%), acquaintances known for less than 24 hours (13.9%), acquaintances known for more than 24 hours (40.2%), and current or previous husbands or boyfriends (15.3%). Client background, presentation information, and assault characteristics were examined through client self-report as well as clinician observation. The results of the study support the association of some assault characteristics and assailant-victim relationship status. In particular, variables related to coercion, violence, and physical trauma revealed that assaults by husbands or boyfriends were more violent and resulted in more physical trauma to victims than assaults by other known assailants. Overall, the results indicated that husband/boyfriend assaults were most similar to those committed by strangers.

Violence, Injury, and Presentation Patterns in Spousal Sexual Assaults:

This study examined the nature and extent of coercion, violence, and physical injury among victims of sexual assaults committed by spouses(n = 97) and compared these to sexual assaults committed by boyfriends (n = 256) and acquaintances (n = 194). The results of the study reveal that women assaulted by spouses reported for treatment sooner than other groups of women and were more likely to call the police. Although assaults committed by spouse and boyfriend assailants were generally more physically violent and resulted in more victim injury than assaults by acquaintances, an overall linear relationship between variables and the degree of victim-perpetrator familiarity was not found. These results challenge the enduring stereotypes suggesting spousal sexual assaults are less serious and less violent.

Measuring Hope: Is Hope Related to Criminal Behaviour in Offenders?

In contrast to growing regard for the psychological construct of hope in medical and psychological arenas, hope has not yet found a permanent place in the field of criminology. Traditionally, treatment programs and risk assessment tools have focused on the deficits that criminal offenders possess. However, the orientation of our approach to corrections has recently shifted to embrace more strengths-based, offender-focused programming designed to rehabilitate offenders. The assessment for risk for recidivism has been slower to make this transition and use research supporting the use of more dynamic risk factors for reducing reoffending. This study investigates the nature of hope in offenders in relation to their risk for future criminal behaviour. The results indicate that hope is indeed related to the risk for reoffending. The information obtained through this research will inform researchers and clinicians about the nature of hope in a correctional population and its relation with risk for future criminal behaviour.

Substance abuse and childhood maltreatment. Conceptualizing the recovery process

Research exploring the dual, yet related, issues of adulthood substance abuse and childhood maltreatment remains limited to the effects of such experiences on the individual. To date, clinical literature has failed to explore the ways in which individuals, particularly women, cope with and recover from these experiences. The current study applied a qualitative methodology to a sample of six women. Respondents had completed a minimum of 3 years of chemical-free living and self-identified as survivors of prolonged childhood sexual abuse. Women participated in a semi-structured interview to detail their recovery process. Results show support for a multifactorial process of recovery; specifically, strategies aimed at affect regulation, development of a new self-concept, and the forging of more adaptive attachment styles. The implications of these results are discussed in the context of improving clinical intervention strategies and encouraging additional research endeavors to understand this complex process.