Maria Testa

Social stigma: The affective consequences of attributional ambiguity

Two experiments investigated the hypothesis that the stigmatized can protect their self-esteem by attributing negative feedback to prejudice. Fifty-nine women participated in the 1st experiment. Women who received negative feedback from a prejudiced evaluator attributed the feedback to his prejudice and reported less depressed affect than women who received negative feedback from a nonprejudiced evaluator. In the 2nd experiment, 38 Black and 45 White students received interpersonal feedback from a White evaluator, who cither could see them or could not. Compared with Whites, Blacks were more likely to attribute negative feedback to prejudice than positive feedback and were more likely to attribute both types of feedback to prejudice when they could be seen by the other student. Being seen by the evaluator buffered the self-esteem of Blacks from negative feedback but hurt the self-esteem of Blacks who received positive feedback.

Revising the SES: A collaborative process to improve assessment of sexual aggression and victimization

The Sexual Experiences Survey (SES) assesses victimization and perpetration of unwanted sexual experiences (e.g., Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987). Revised versions of the SES that resulted from the work of the SES Collaboration are now available. This article reviews weaknesses of the SES that were identified, strengths that were preserved, and methodological considerations in the measurement of unwanted sexual experiences that informed the revisions. The primary changes include: more behavioral specificity; conversion to gender neutrality; full crossing of unwanted acts and coercive tactics; and revised and updated wording for assessing consent, alcohol-related incidents, unwanted acts, and coercive tactics. For illustration, the full text of the revised victimization version and its scoring rules are provided. The article concludes with suggestions for future research. These suggestions aim to involve researchers in a coordinated agenda to develop data that clarify methodological questions and contribute to continued improvement in assessing sexual victimization and perpetration.

Perceived social support, self-efficacy, and adjustment to abortion.

Prior to their having a 1st trimester abortion, womens perceptions of social support from their partner, family, and friends and self-efficacy for coping were assessed. Depression, mood, physical complaints, and anticipation of negative consequences were measured after the 30-min recovery period. As predicted, perceived social support enhanced adjustment indirectly through its effects on self-efficacy. Women who perceived high support from their family, friends, and partners had higher self-efficacy for coping. Higher self-efficacy, in turn, predicted better adjustment on the psychological measures but not on the physical complaint measure. No direct path between social support and adjustment was observed. In addition, women who told close others of their abortion but perceived them as less than completely supportive had poorer postabortion psychological adjustment than either women who did not tell or women who told and perceived complete support.

The role of women's alcohol consumption in sexual victimization

This review examines whether womens alcohol consumption increases her likelihood of sexual victimization. Three types of studies are reviewed: (a) global association studies, that examine the correlation between typical alcohol consumption and sexual victimization; (b) event-based studies, that examine alcohol consumption at the time of victimization; and (c) studies that focus on specific mechanisms by which womens alcohol consumption may contribute to sexual assault, for example, by leading to cognitive impairment on the part of the woman or by influencing the perceptions of potential male perpetrators. The literature suggests that alcohol and sexual victimization are linked, however, the specific mechanism by which they are associated and the strength of the relationship remain unclear. Good quality survey and laboratory research that employs prospective and within-subject designs would greatly increase our understanding of alcohols role in sexual assault. Such methodologically sound studies will be extremely important for informing development of prevention and education programs for both females and males.

Assessing Women's Experiences of Sexual Aggression Using the Sexual Experiences Survey: Evidence for Validity and Implications for Research.

In this study we examined the ability of a modified Sexual Experiences Survey (SES; Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987) to assess sexual victimization among a local community sample of women (n = 1,014). Women who reported sexual victimization were interviewed regarding the most recent incident. Those who responded negatively to all SES items were asked whether they had ever feared they would be sexually assaulted but were not, and to describe that incident. Independent coders read a subset of transcripts (n = 137) and classified each incident as reflecting: one of the SES items, a form of unwanted sex not included on the SES, or not unwanted sex. Coders viewed nearly all incidents elicited by the SES as reflecting some type of unwanted sex. Respondent-coder agreement for rape and coercion incidents was high, but low for contact and attempted rape incidents. The SES scoring continuum, reflecting objective severity of acts, was only modestly associated with subjective trauma associated with rape, attempted rape, coercion, and contact.

The Differential Correlates of Sexual Coercion and Rape

Typically, sexual coercion has been viewed as a less serious form of sexual aggression than attempted rape or rape. However, sexual coercion may be better understood as a qualitatively different type of sexual aggression experience. We examined the correlates of sexual coercion and rape/attempted rape experiences separately among a sample of young women who were at increased risk of sexual victimization as a result of their high levels of sexual activity and alcohol consumption. We hypothesized that personality variables would be associated with sexual coercion but not rape experiences. We found that low self-esteem, low assertiveness, and high sexrelated alcohol expectancies were associated with sexual coercion experiences but not with rape or attempted rape. Higher levels of casual sexual activity and alcohol consumption were associated with both types of experiences. Findings suggest that sexual coercion may be prevented by improving sexual assertiveness and weakening alcohol expectancies to emphasize personal control.

The impact of men's alcohol consumption on perpetration of sexual aggression

Epidemiological and experimental literature examining the link between mens alcohol consumption and perpetration of sexual aggression is reviewed. The following are included in the review: (1) associational studies that examine the correlation between typical alcohol consumption and history of sexual aggression perpetration; (2) event-level studies that examine the impact of alcohol consumption at the time of sexual assault; and (3) experimental studies that consider the impact of administered alcohol on mens responses to a sexual aggression analog. Associational studies suggest a modest correlation between typical alcohol consumption and history of sexual aggression perpetration, but spurious effects may account for much of the relationship. Event-level studies offer mixed evidence in support of a relationship between alcohol consumption at the time of the sexually aggressive incident and severity of outcome. Experimental analog studies provide evidence of a proximal, pharmacological effect of alcohol on the likelihood of sexual aggression perpetration and more modest evidence supporting an alcohol expectancy effect. An integrative heuristic model of alcohols distal and proximal effects on sexual aggression perpetration is proposed. Priorities for future research include greater specificity in measurement of sexual aggression, examination of alcohols indirect effects on aggression through context, and consideration of mechanisms other than alcohol myopia in understanding alcohols proximal effects.

Alcohol Consumption and Women's Vulnerability to Sexual Victimization: Can Reducing Women's Drinking Prevent Rape?

Before effective prevention interventions can be developed, it is necessary to identify the mechanisms that contribute to the targeted negative outcomes. A review of the literature on womens substance use and sexual victimization points to womens heavy episodic drinking as a proximal risk factor, particularly among college samples. At least half of sexual victimization incidents involve alcohol use and the majority of rapes of college women occur when the victim is too intoxicated to resist (“incapacitated rape”). Despite the importance of womens heavy episodic drinking as being a risk factor, existing rape prevention programs have rarely addressed womens alcohol use and have shown little success in reducing rates of sexual victimization. We argue that given the strength of the association between heavy episodic drinking and sexual victimization among young women, prevention programs targeting drinking may prove more efficacious than programs targeting sexual vulnerability. Applications of existing drinking prevention strategies to reducing womens sexual victimization are discussed.

Prospective Prediction of Women’s Sexual Victimization by Intimate and Nonintimate Male Perpetrators

Although behavioral risk factors such as substance use have been hypothesized to increase womens vulnerability to sexual victimization, prospective studies provide mixed empirical support. In the current prospective study, the authors considered substance use, sexual activity, and sexual assertiveness as predictors of sexual victimization from intimate partners and nonintimate perpetrators. Among a representative community sample of women ages 18-30 years (N = 927), 17.9% reported sexual victimization over 2 years, the majority by an intimate partner. Low sexual refusal assertiveness, drug use, and prior intimate partner victimization predicted intimate partner sexual victimization. Heavy episodic drinking and number of sexual partners predicted victimization from nonintimates. The finding that there are different risk factors for sexual victimization from intimates versus nonintimates suggests the need for tailored prevention strategies.

Does Alcohol Make a Difference? Within-participants Comparison of Incidents of Partner Violence

Episodes of husband-to-wife violence in which the husband consumed alcohol were compared with episodes of husband-to-wife violence, reported by the same individuals, in which the husband was not drinking. Among this community sample of newly-weds, wife reports, but not husband reports, indicated that violent episodes in which the husband was drinking included more acts of violence and were more likely to involve severe violence. Both wife and husband reports indicated that wives were more likely to be physically aggressive in husband drinking episodes compared to sober episodes. However, whereas wives reported that their aggressive behavior was a response to husband aggression, husbands reported that wives were more likely to initiate violence in these episodes. Violent episodes that include alcohol may be more severe and more mutually violent than sober episodes. Discrepancies between husband and wife reports may reflect differences in recall or self-serving biases.