Prediction of Sexual Aggression by Alcohol Use, Athletic Participation, and Fraternity Affiliation

• NCJ Number: 141161
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1993) Pages: 94-108
• Author(s): M P Koss; J A Gaines
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the joint contributions of alcohol use, fraternity affiliation, and athletic participation to the prediction of sexual aggression among male college students.

Abstract

The design and methodology of the study were intended to address some of the flaws in previous research. Specifically, it intended to achieve a reasonable participation rate among the targeted sample, foster internal validity in the classification of participation in student organizations, and use a reliable method of sexual aggression assessment. The two-page survey instrument was administered in Psychology 101 classes. In addition to the psychology students, athletes were oversampled by including the freshmen of the varsity football team. A total of 530 participants were obtained. Sexual aggression was measured with an 11-item version of the Sexual Experiences Survey. Four variables reflected current athletic involvement, and fraternity affiliation was graded according to level of contact with the Greek system. The survey contained eight variables that measured alcohol and other drug use. A six-item, short form of the Hostility Toward Women Scale was included to provide a single indicator of this psychological domain against which to compare the predictive power of the other variables. Stepwise multiple regression was used to determine the extent to which sexual aggression severity could be predicted by the set of 13 predictor variables. Approximately 11 percent of the variance in the level of sexual aggression was accounted for by four variables, including self-reported intensity of alcohol use and degree of athletic participation, but not fraternity affiliation. The alcohol and athletic variables also discriminated those men who reported participating in gang rapes (n=17) from those not involved. Although significant prediction was achieved, the results must be viewed cautiously, since the power of the effects was small. The article discusses the implications of the findings for rape prevention education. 3 tables and 26 references