NCJ Number
135597
Journal
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology Volume: 59 Issue: 5 Dated: (October 1991) Pages: 724-731
Date Published
1991
Length
8 pages
Annotation
The relation among situational factors, offender aggression, and victim resistance to female sexual abuse and physical injury during sexual assaults was analyzed using police reports and court testimony of 274 women who either avoided rape or were raped.
Abstract
The sample of raped women and rape avoiders was selected from 732 rape cases described in the clinical files of 147 rapists committed to the Massachusetts Treatment Center between 1959 and 1989 as sexually dangerous. The 274 rape survivors on whom detailed offense-related information was available were young (average age of 25 years) and predominantly white. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis of data from offenders' institutional files showed that, after situational factors were partialed out, women's screaming and yelling were related to less severe sexual abuse and that offender physical aggression was related to increased physical injury. An a prior model of interrelations between offense components and injury outcomes was tested with path analysis. More forceful victim resistance was directly related to less severe sexual abuse, even when partialing level of situational danger and level of offender aggression. In contrast, more forceful victim resistance was not related to level of physical injury when both level of situational danger and level of offender aggression in the assault were controlled. As hypothesized, verbal aggression by the offender was related to more severe sexual abuse. It is recommended that psychologists working with women be aware of and disseminate information on both effective and ineffective rape resistance tactics. 20 references, 5 tables, and 1 figure (Author abstract modified)