NCJ Number
167761
Date Published
1997
Length
11 pages
Annotation
The prevalence and types of psychological force involved to gain sexual contact or commit sexual assault are examined, based on data from two studies.
Abstract
The first study was an attitudinal survey of high school students regarding situations in which they could justify using psychological or physical force to obtain sexual contact from their partners. Results revealed that 91 percent of the 2,071 males and females agreed that a woman does not owe sex as a result of a male spending a lot of money on a date. However, 28 percent of the males and 9 percent of the females believed that using psychological force in this situation was appropriate for the male; 1 percent of both males and females agreed that physical force was appropriate as well. From 26 to 58 percent of the males and 9-38 percent of the females endorsed the use of psychological force in certain situations. The second study gathered responses from Minnesota sex offenders, who reported the types of psychological and physical force they had used when committing their sexual offenses. Results revealed that most perpetrators of physical and sexual violence used psychological force prior to becoming physically and sexually violent. They also continued to be psychologically abusive after the abusive incident. Findings indicated that therapists must give attention to how the victim was trapped by emotional confusion and must help both victims and perpetrators identify the other forms of abuse that may have occurred in addition to sexual abuse. Table and 7 references