Alan Berkowitz, PhD

Abstract. This article reviews literature since 1980 on college men as perpetrators of acquaintance rape and other forms of sexual assault. Topics include (1) the definition and incidence of acquaintance rape and sexual assault;(2) perpetrator characteristics; (3) situations associated with sexual assault; and (4) men's misperception of women's sexual intent. An integrated theory of sexual assault is proposed, along with implications for the development of effective rape-prevention programs for men.

Key Words: acquaintance rape, rape prevention, sexual assault

A substantial proportion of college women are at risk of becoming victims of acquaintance rape on campus. Prevalence figures range from 15% to 44%, and even greater numbers of women experience other forms of sexual assault. Although this review and most other research examine heterosexual dating situations, there is evidence that acquaintance rape occurs at similar rates among gay men and lesbian women.

Outreach programs and prevention strategies developed to address this problem have focused primarily on reducing women's risk of sexual victimization or have used coeducational audiences in an effort to examine the social and interpersonal behaviors associated with rape. Despite the existence of a substantial literature identifying attitudes, behaviors, and personal characteristics of college men who are prone to commit sexual assault, few programs that focus on men's issues in relation to acquaintance rape have been developed specifically for all-male groups.

This article reviews literature on college men as perpetrators of sexual assault, including acquaintance rape, with particular emphasis on research completed since 1980; proposes an integrated theory of sexual assault; and discusses implications for developing rape prevention programs for men.

Definition and Incidence of Male Sexual Assault

Sexual assault occurs when one person is sexually intimate with another without the consent of the second party. Sexually assaultive behaviors can be placed on a continuum according to the degree of force or coercion involved. They include behaviors such as ignoring indications that intimacy is not mutual, threatening negative consequences or use of force, or using force to obtain sexual intimacy. Rape is the most extreme form of sexual assault. In most states, rape is defined as penetration without the victim's consent.

Most studies of the frequency of sexual assault among college students indicate that from 25% to 60% of college men have engaged in some form of sexually coercive behavior. In one survey by Rapaport and Burkhart, only 39% of the men sampled denied coercive involvement; 28% admitted to having used a coercive method at least once; and 15% admitted they had forced a woman to have intercourse at least once. Koss and others, using data from a large, nationally representative sample of college and university students, found that 25% of the male respondents had been involved in some form of sexual assault since age 14.

Muehlenhard has conducted a number of interesting studies that examine the prevalence of sexual assault among college students in relation to a variety of predisposing factors. In one study, 57% of the men admitted to perpetrating sexual assault, with 51% reporting an incident during college. The most frequent means these men employed was simply to ignore their victim when she protested or said "no." Rapaport and Burkhart, in the study cited above, also noted that most incidents of sexual assault perpetrated by college men involved ignoring the victim's protests rather than using violence or overt force. Muehlenhard and Schrag recently provided an excellent review of the different forms of nonviolent sexual coercion experienced by women.

Koss noted that the incidents of sexual assault admitted to by college men are not sufficient to account for all of the victimization experiences reported in her survey. This phenomenon was found to be due to underreporting of perpetrators rather than to actions of a few extremely sexually active men victimizing large numbers of women.

Another behavior noted in the literature is men's reports of engaging in sexual activity against their own wishes. In a recent study, Muehlenhard and Cook found that almost two thirds of the men surveyed had engaged in unwanted intercourse, primarily because of male peer pressure or wanting to be popular. Similar results were obtained in another study in which 14% of the male students reported having been forced to have intercourse against their will, and 17% that they had been pressured to have sexual contact when they did not desire it.

An Integrated Theory of Sexual Assault

Various theoretical models have been proposed to explain the occurrence of sexual assault. A growing number of researchers and theorists have suggested that sexual assault is the result of normal socialization processes that men experience. This sociocultural approach places rape on a continuum of sexually assaultive behaviors without defining rape as a deviant act committed by atypical individuals. A great deal of research supports this model.

Other theoretical models have focused on the personality characteristics and behaviors of the perpetrator and/or the victim, situations in which assaults are more likely to occur, and patterns of misinterpretation and miscommuni- cation about sexual intimacy between women and men. As evidence documenting the importance of all of these variables has accrued, researchers have argued for a multivariate model of sexual assault that considers the relative roles of all the variables. Rapaport and Posey argued for such a model in their recent review of the literature on sexually coercive college males:

Rape concepts and rape research should focus on a complex

model wherein personality characteristics, situational factors,

and socialization all play a role in the development of sexual

coerciveness in general and rape in particular.

A multivariate approach can be used to explain differences among men on variables related to the likelihood of committing a sexual assault and can help to identify those with a greater propensity to rape. Although all components of the model need not be present for a sexual assault to occur, there is evidence that their presence can be used to predict the likelihood of sexual assault.

This model of sexual assault considers the relative influence of perpetrator characteristics, situational variables associated with sexual assault, the degree to which the perpetrator misperceives the sexual intent of his partner, and victim characteristics associated with women's increased risk of victimization. A discussion of risk factors for women's victimization is outside the scope of this review, but readers will find that a considerable literature exists on this topic.

The perpetrator's attitudes, beliefs, and socialization experiences define for him conditions in which he would be willing to assault an acquaintance sexually or to believe that assault was justifiable. Other perpetrator characteristics, including personality and early sexual experiences, may create a willingness or greater likelihood of acting on these beliefs and attitudes. Situational variables-what actually happens in the context of a date or social interaction with a female acquaintance-can serve as triggers for the perpetrator, leading him to conclude that continued sexual aggression is justified. His misreading of these situational cues may cause him to mis-interpret his partner's sexual intent, incorrectly attributing to her a similar interest in sexual intimacy. For example, a man may be socialized to believe that women do not really mean it when they say "no" to sexual advances. A man who adheres to this belief will probably overlook a negative verbal response to his attempts at sexual intimacy, especially if he is somewhat irresponsible, impulsive, or tradi- tional in his sex role attitudes. The assumption that "no means yes" will then lead him to misperceive his partner's sexual intent.

This model assumes that most college men who commit acquaintance rape and other forms of sexual assault do not define their behavior as such and are, therefore, able to justify their actions to themselves and others. The unwillingness or inability of rapists to label their actions correctly has been documented in a number of studies, and there is considerable research suggesting that the relationship between predictor variables and the occur- rence of sexual assault is much stronger for perpetrators than it is for victims.

Perpetrator Characteristics

Men grow up in an environment that supports the objectification of women and encourages them to behave in ways that are sometimes violent and coercive. Many college men admit, for example, that they would be willing to commit sexual assault under certain conditions. These actions logically follow from men's socialization into traditional gender roles. Such gender socialization experiences, however, are not sufficient to explain the occurrence of sexual assault because many men do not act on these cultural messages. Rape-suppor- tive attitudes and beliefs may create a potential for engaging in sexual assault that is reinforced by personality characteristics and early sexual experiences. Studies that evaluate the role of perpetrator characteristics in predisposing men to condone or engage in sexually aggressive acts are summarized below.

Male socialization. Many theorists have argued that the socialization of American men encourages a complex of attitudes and behaviors that predispose them to dominate and abuse women and other men in a variety of ways. Brannon and David's analysis of the male sex role included the following components: (1) avoid acting in ways that can be seen as feminine ("no sissy stuff"); (2) strive for power, status, and control ("be a big wheel"); (3) act tough and unemotional ("be a sturdy oak"); and (4) be aggressive and take risks ("give 'em hell").

Relationships with women and sexuality, in particular, provide a sphere for the enactment and confirmation of these traditional gender role expectations. Because formation of a gendered and sexual identity is one of the important developmental tasks for young adults, sex role prescriptions may take on particular importance for college men between the ages of 18 and 25 years. Such normative gender roles assign men the role of "aggressor" and women the role of "gatekeeper" with respect to issues of sexual intimacy. O'Neil has referred to the totality of these male sex role behaviors and attitudes as the "masculine mystique."

These authors and others in the academic disciplines of women's studies and men's studies have argued that sex role socialization provides men with permission to commit sexual abuse and creates a cognitive framework that allows them to justify similar behavior among male peers. Men feel pressure from other men to be sexual as a means of confirming their masculinity. In conversations with other men, they frequently emphasize their sexual experiences. These pressures may also result in men's participation in sexual encounters that they later regret.

Attitudes. As a result of their socialization experiences, men may develop attitudes and belief systems that allow them to justify sexual assault or not define it as such. In a number of studies, men who accepted stereotypical myths about rape, held adversarial views about relationships between men and women, condoned violence against women, or held traditional attitudes about sex roles were found to be more tolerant of rape, more blaming of rape victims, and more likely to rape if they could be assured that no one would find out. Adherence to these rape-supportive attitudes has also been associated with actual experience as a perpetrator. Muehlenhard et al, in a frequently cited study, found that men perceived rape to be more justified if the couple went to the man's apartment, if the woman asked the man out, and if the man paid all of the expenses for the date. Although most men adhere to these attitudes to some extent, those men who scored as more traditional in their sex role attitudes were even more likely to view rape as justifiable in these conditions.

Rape-supportive attitudes may take the form of beliefs in rape myths. A rape myth has been defined as "prejudice, stereotyped or false belief about rape, rape victims, and rapists." These myths can include believing that the victim wanted or deserved to be assaulted, that no harm was done, or that sexual assault never happened. Rape myths have been found to be widely held by men in the general population. In one study, the rape myth most frequently associated with sexual assault was men's belief in the "token no" hypothesis, that is, that "no does not mean no." Another belief strongly correlated with sexual assault in this study was men's belief that violence is an acceptable response to women who "lead men on." Belief in such rape myths has been strongly correlated with college men's willingness to justify rape in a number of studies.

The following statement by Steven Box provides an excellent description of men's socialization into coercive sexuality:

Masculine sex-role socialization is a cultural precondition of

rape because, first, it reduces women in men's minds to the

status of sex objects, and second, it instructs men to be

prepared for strong, even if deceitful, resistance... Thus, in

pursuing "normal" sexual relationships men often find themselves

in a situation where a reluctant female has to be overcome, not

only because that's what "real men" do, but because that's what

"real" women really want. In other words, "normal" and "coercive"

sexual encounters become so fused in the masculine mystique that

it becomes possible to see rape as not only normal, but even

desired by the victim.

Personality characteristics and early sexual experience. The belief that rape perpetrators are psychologically disturbed individuals who differ from more "normal" men has not been supported in most studies, which show that men without evidence of psychological disturbance have been found as likely to commit sexual assault. More recent studies, however, suggest that certain personality characteristics or childhood experiences may act as predisposing factors for sexual aggression without being an indicator of overt psycho- pathology. Koss and Dinero found that men who perpetrated severe sexual aggression had their first sexual experience at a younger age and reported earlier and more frequent childhood sexual experiences, both forced and voluntary. These men were also characterized by greater hostility toward women. Other researchers have found sexually coercive behavior to be associated with characteristics of irresponsibility, lack of social conscience, values legitimizing aggression against women, and a need for dominance over sexual partners. These results provide support for a developmental sequence of sexual aggression, with early experiences and personality characteristics serving as preconditions of sexual violence in the presence of facilitating environmental conditions.

Situational Risk Factors

The aforementioned predisposing factors exist within the perpetrator as personality characteristics, attitudes, and belief systems about sexuality. They may be triggered by actual situations that are interpreted as justifying sexual intimacy. Thus, another set of risk factors for sexual assault relates to characteristics of the actual dating situation. Situations or characteris- tics of dates that have been empirically correlated with sexual assault include those associated with men's increased control or dominance (such as date location and activity, who initiates and who pays, and mode of transpor- tation); alcohol and other drug use; the nature of the victim-perpetrator relationship; and peer support or enabling behaviors.

Control and dominance issues. Muehlenhard and Linton reported that men who initiated the date, paid all expenses, and provided transportation were more likely to be sexually aggressive. Engaging in these activities gives men a greater ability to define what happens during a date and reflects the existing disparities in power between men and women within society at large. The phenomenon of "parking" (engaging in intimate behavior in a car or truck), which was strongly correlated with sexual assault in one study, illustrates this dynamic. Parking usually occurs in the man's car in an isolated place, providing him with considerably more control than his date has over what happens.

Alcohol and other drug use. Alcohol or other drug use is frequently associated with sexual assaults on college campuses. In one study,frequent use of alcohol and other drugs was associated with more serious incidents of sexual assault and was one of the four strongest predictors of rape among college women. Abbey has suggested that use of alcohol increases the chances that sexual intent will be misperceived, can be used to justify sexually aggressive behavior, and can impair men's and women's abilities to communicate their intentions effectively. Other studies have documented that both men and women adhere to a double standard--men are perceived as less responsible and women as more responsible for what happens when one or both parties drink alcohol before a sexual assault. The results of one recent study suggest that unwanted sexual experiences as a result of alcohol use are commonplace for both men and women: approximately 25% of both genders reported having this happen at least once within the past year, and 15% of men and 10% of women more than once.

Victim-perpetrator relationship. Another situational variable is the perpetrator's relationship to the victim. In one study, most incidents of sexual assault in college occurred between men and women who had known each other for at least a year. In another study, 42% of victims had sex with their perpetrator at a later time. These studies contradict the belief that sexual assault commonly occurs among strangers rather than among individuals in a more ongoing relationship.

Close-knit male peer groups and gang rape. Koss and Dinero found a relationship between the degree of sexual assault and the perpetrator's use of violent and degrading pornography or involvement in peer groups that rein- forced views of women as highly sexualized objects. Fraternities have often been used as an example of a highly intensive male peer environment that reinforces such rape-supportive attitudes and behaviors. Martin and Hummer advanced this hypothesis in an article on fraternities and campus rape, noting the likelihood of sexual abuse in an environment that promotes narrow, stereo- typical conceptions of masculinity, encourages use of alcohol to overcome women's sexual reluctance, and emphasizes violence, force, and competition in relationships.

Most gang rapes that occur in college environments are perpetrated by male members of such groups. In one review of alleged gang rapes by college students since 1980, 22 out of 24 documented cases were perpetrated by members of fraternities or intercollegiate athletic teams. Membership in such groups may "protect a perpetrator from doubts about the propriety of his behavior," especially when such groups are associated with high status and special privileges on campus. Participation in or observation of group sexual assaults may also serve to increase group cohesiveness and resolve doubts about heterosexuality created by close, intimate relationships with other men.

Misperceptions of Sexual Intent

Antonia Abbey and her colleagues have shown that college men and women interpret sexual and nonverbal cues differently, with men typically overestimating women's sexual availability and interest. For example, men are more likely than women to perceive male and female stimulus persons as seductive and are more likely to report sexual attraction toward opposite-sex targets. These results were supported in two follow-up studies in which stimulus situations were varied in relation to a wide variety of situational cues, including revealingness of the target's clothing, interpersonal distance, eye contact and touch, and sex composition of the dyad. Shotland and Craig, in a related study, found that although both genders make distinctions between "friendly" and "interested" behavior, men have a much lower threshold for the perception of sexual intent. Muehlenhard reported similar results: "No matter who initiated the date, who paid, or where the couple went, men were always more likely than women to interpret the behavior as a sign that women wanted sex."

Men who commit a sexual assault have often misperceived their victim's sexual intent. In one study of actual dating experiences, men who perpetrated a sexual assault reported feeling "led on," in part because they perceived their female partners to be dressed more suggestively than usual. Koss reported that men who committed a sexual assault did not define their behavior as rape, placed equal responsibility on their partners for what happened, and said they were willing to engage in similar behavior again. These perpetrators also disagreed with their victims about the extent to which force was used and resisted.

This research points to a considerable gender gap in men's and women's interpretations of heterosexual dating behaviors, a gap that has led some to define cross-gender communication as a form of cross-cultural communication. The studies reviewed here indicate that men are much more willing than are women to interpret a variety of behaviors as indicative of sexual interest, even when the stimuli are very subtle, and especially when they are ambiguous. Men see attributes in women such as friendliness, revealingness of clothing, and attractiveness as seductive when these same behaviors are not perceived this way by women. These differences in the perception of sexual intent set the stage for misunderstanding and misinterpretation in heterosexual dating situations and may result in men's perceiving a green light when none exists.

Implications for Rape Prevention Programming

Recent research suggests that rape is best understood as an extreme on a continuum of sexually assaultive behaviors; that sexual assault is engaged in by many men and may be somewhat normative; and that sexual assault is best understood as occurring in a sociocultural environment that promotes rape- supportive attitudes and socializes men to adhere to them. Many men may report engaging in unwanted sexual activity, in part as a result of peer pressure to be sexually active.

From this review, a number of conclusions can be drawn with respect to the design and development of effective rape prevention programs for men. Such programs should obviously address the different risk factors associated with men's willingness to condone or engage in sexual assault. This may include defining rape and sexual assault, challenging rape myths, understanding male socialization experiences, and encouraging men to confront peers who express adherence to rape supportive beliefs. Interventions designed to have an impact on situational contributors to sexual assault, including campus substance abuse patterns and policy, are also indicated by the present review.

Because most of the variables predicting men's likelihood of committing a sexual assault are associated with experiences in all-male environments or with close male peers, efforts to change male attitudes and behavior may be more effective in all-male groups. In fact, rape prevention programs that focus exclusively on women may serve to reinforce attitudes and belief systems that allow men to deny responsibility for the problem. Similarly, coed discussion groups or workshop formats may unintentionally reinforce differ- ences between men and women and adversarial views of male-female relationships that are associated with men's increased proclivity to rape. In contrast, all- male workshops can create a safe environment where men can discuss the atti- tudes and behaviors that make them potential perpetrators and can be encour- aged to take action to stop rape. Peer-facilitated groups that use respected campus leaders as role models may be particularly effective in generating positive peer pressure against rape and for modeling alternatives to tradi- tional male sexist behavior. Such workshop formats can also be used to encourage men who do not adhere to rape-supportive beliefs and attitudes to speak out and have their views represented among the diversity of male view- points.

In summary, the causes of sexual assault are complex and incorporate a wide range of experiences, attitudes, and cognitions among men. Rape prevention is clearly a men's issue, and we need prevention programs that draw on relevant research to help men begin a process of self-examination and change.

Excerpt from: Berkowitz, Alan, PhD, "College Men as Perpetrators of Acquaintance Rape and Sexual Assault: A Review of Recent Research", College Health, Vol 40, January 1992.