Beliefs About Rape and Women's Social Roles - A Four-Nation Study

• NCJ Number: 104784
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1987) Pages: 46-56
• Author(s): F Costin; N Schwarz
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: This article is an extended version of a paper presented at the 23rd International Congress of Psychology, Acapulco, Mexico, September 5, 1984.

Annotation

Data from the United States, England, Israel, and West Germany all supported the hypothesis that myths about rape are positively correlated with beliefs that women's social roles should be more restricted than men's.

Abstract

Subjects for the study's first phase were 432 female and 140 male university undergraduates and 114 women and 76 men employed in the Chicago metropolitan area. Data were gathered in 1981 using self-report measures of acceptance of rape myths and of restrictive beliefs about women's social roles. Phase 2 data came from 411 female and 261 male undergraduates and 385 employed women and men in 1982. Phase 3 data were gathered in 1983 from 194 university undergraduates and 91 secondary school teachers in England, 98 undergraduates in Israel, and 153 undergraduates in West Germany. Acceptance of rape myths was significantly correlated at the 0.01 level with restrictive beliefs about women's social roles and rights in all but one of the groups tested. These findings can be useful in both counseling and educational programs. Research recommendations, data table, note, and 12 references.