Two studies examined the effects of alcohol and relationship type on women’s sexual assault risk perception. Study 1 participants (N = 62) consumed a moderate alcohol dose or nonalcoholic beverage, then rated their awareness of and discomfort with sexual assault risk cues in a hypothetical encounter with a new or established dating partner. Study 2 (N = 351) compared control, placebo, low, and high alcohol dose conditions using a similar scenario. Intoxicated women reported decreased awareness of and discomfort with risk cues. An established relationship decreased discomfort ratings. Findings indicate that alcohol may increase women’s sexual victimization likelihood through reduced sexual assault risk perception.
Abbey, A. ( 1991). Acquaintance rape and alcohol consumption on college campuses: How are they linked? Journal of American College Health, 39, 165-169.
2.
Abbey, A., Zawacki, T., Buck, P., Clinton, A.M., & McAuslan, P. ( 2004). Sexual assault and alcohol consumption: What do we know about their relationship and what types of research are still needed? Aggression and Violent Behavior, 9, 271-303.
3.
Fromme, K., D’Amico, E.J., & Katz, E.C. ( 1999). Intoxicated sexual risk taking: An expectancy or cognitive impairment explanation? Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 60, 54-63.
4.
Fromme, K., Katz, E., & D’Amico, E. (1997). Effects of alcohol intoxication on the perceived consequences of risk taking. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 5, 14-23.
5.
George, W.H., & Stoner, S.A. ( 2000). Understanding acute alcohol effects on sexual behavior . Annual Review of Sex Research, 11, 92-124.
6.
Giancola, P.R., & Zeichner, A. ( 1997). The biphasic effects of alcohol on human physical aggression . Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 598-607.
7.
Gidycz, C.A., McNamara, J.R., & Edwards, K.M. ( 2006). Women’s risk perception and sexual victimization: A review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior , 11, 441-456.
8.
Greeley, J., & Oei, T.P.S. (1999). Alcohol and tension reduction . In K. Leonard & H. T. Blane (Eds.), Psychological theories of drinking and alcoholism (2nd ed., pp. 14-53). New York: Guilford.
9.
Koss, M.P. ( 1988). Hidden rape: Incidence, prevalence, and descriptive characteristics of sexual aggression in a national sample of college students. In A. W. Burgess (Ed.), Sexual assault (Vol. 2, pp. 3-25). New York: Garland .
10.
Loewenstein, G.F., Weber, E.U., Hsee, C.K., & Welch, N. ( 2001). Risk as feelings. Psychological Bulletin , 127, 267-286.
11.
Maisto, S.A., Carey, M.P., Carey, K.B., Gordon, C.M., & Schum, J.L. ( 2004). Effects of alcohol and expectancies on HIV-related risk perception and behavioral skills in heterosexual women. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 12, 288-297.
12.
Marlatt, G.A., & Rohsenow, D.J. (1980). Cognitive processes in alcohol use: Expectancy and the balanced placebo design. In N. K. Mello (Ed.), Advances in substance abuse (Vol. 1, pp. 159-199). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
13.
Muehlenhard, C.L., & Linton, M.A. ( 1987). Date rape and sexual aggression in dating situations: Incidence and risk factors. Journal of Counseling Psychology , 34, 186-196.
14.
Norris, J., Nurius, P.S., & Graham, T.L. ( 1999). When a date changes from fun to dangerous: Factors affecting women’s ability to distinguish. Violence Against Women , 5, 230-250.
15.
Nurius, P.S., & Norris, J. ( 1996). A cognitive ecological model of women’s response to male sexual coercion in dating. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 8, 117-139.
16.
Rozee, P.D., Bateman, P., & Gilmore, T. ( 1991). The personal perspective of acquaintance rape prevention: A three-tier approach. In A. Parrot & L. Bechhofer (Eds.), Acquaintance rape: The hidden crime (pp. 337-354). New York: John Wiley.
17.
Sayette, M.A. ( 1993). An appraisal-disruption model of alcohol’s effects on stress responses in social drinkers. Psychological Bulletin , 114, 459-476.
18.
Steele, C.M., & Josephs, R.A. ( 1990). Alcohol myopia: Its prized and dangerous effects. American Psychologist, 45, 921-933.
19.
Taylor, S.P., & Leonard, K.E. ( 1983). Alcohol and human physical aggression. In R. G. Geen & E. J. Donnerstein (Eds.), Aggression: Theoretical and empirical reviews: Issues in research (Vol. 2, pp. 77-101). New York: Harper Collins.
20.
Testa, M., Livingston, J.A., & Collins, R.L. ( 2000). The role of women’s alcohol consumption in evaluation of vulnerability to sexual aggression. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 8, 185-191.
21.
Ullman, S.E. ( 1997). Review and critique of empirical studies of rape avoidance . Criminal Justice and Behavior, 24, 177-204.
22.
VanZile-Tamsen, C., Testa, M., & Livingston, J.A. (2005). The impact of sexual assault history and relational context on appraisal of and responses to acquaintance sexual assault risk. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 813-832.
