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Affiliation
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Department of Sociology, Washington State University, 99164 Pullman, Washington; School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, 47405 Bloomington, Indiana |
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Abstract
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A random sample of students at a large Midwestern University was selected in order to examine whether and how physical and sexual abuse were related to each other for men and women, whether abuse in one relationship was independent of abuse in other relationships, and how victims responded to abusive incidents. The results revealed several important patterns. When comparing the frequency of physical and sexual abuse for men and women, it was found that sexual abuse was more common than physical abuse, but only for women. Additionally, women experienced more sexual abuse than men. While men and women did not experience physical abuse in other relationships at more than chance levels, women who sustained sexual abuse in one relationship were more likely to sustain sexual abuse in other relationships. Furthermore, while sustaining physical and sexual abuse were not associated with one another for men, there was a weak association for women. Finally, victims of abuse were more likely to tell their friends they had been abused than report it to criminal justice authorities.
VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this study by Stets and Pirog-Good was to examine how physical and sexual abuse were related to each other for men and women in dating relationships, whether abuse in one relationship was independent of abuse in others, and how victims responded to abusive incidents.
METHODOLOGY:
A quasi-experimental cross-sectional design was employed, using self-report data from a random sample of 56 upper-level classes at a large Midwestern university in the Spring of 1986. Professors of each of the selected classes were asked if their students could participate in a study. Both refusals and those who agreed were evenly distributed across disciplines and class sizes. No students refused to participate, giving a total sample of 118 males and 169 females. Nonwhites and individuals who were married or who had not dated within the previous 12 months were excluded from the study. Professors administered the pen and paper survey instruments to their students in attendance. The Conflict Tactics Scale was administered to measure whether respondents had sustained physical abuse in their dating relationships, with questions regarding up to four partners in the previous year. A 7-item scale was developed to measure sexual abuse, with items concerning forced participation in events ranging from necking to sexual intercourse with violence. The scale had Omega reliability of .70 for males and .88 for females. Initially, frequencies were obtained for the various aspects of physical and sexual abuse, followed by point biserial correlations, since the two types of abuse were dichotomized into experienced abuse or did not experience abuse. In order to examine whether abuse in one relationship was independent of that in another, expected frequency of abuse under the assumption of indepedence was calculated. Finally, percentages were obtained to examine the incidence of help-seeking behavior.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
Results indicated that 17% of the males and 27% of the females had been physically abused by one or more dating partners, with mild forms of abuse being most common. 22% of the males and 36% of the females had been sexually abused by one or more dating partners. For women, the incidence of sexual abuse was greater than that of physical abuse, with correlations between various aspects of the two being strong and typically significant. However for men, physical and sexual abuse were weakly and insignificantly correlated. The differences between the expected and the observed frequency of sustaining physical abuse in more than one relationship were non-significant for both men and women, and non-significant for men for sexual abuse. However, women were twice as likely to sustain sexual abuse as expected under the assumption of independence of abuse across relationships. The co-incidence of both forms of abuse showed no association for men, and only a weak association for women (p<0.10). Of those men and women sustaining physical and sexual abuse, approximately 40% perceived the relationship as abusive. Women were more likely than men to tell their friends, parents or a criminal justice agency about the incident, whereas men were more likely to talk to a professional counselor.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
Implications of the study, according to the authors, include an increase in attention drawn to the problem of sexual abuse for both males and females. Improved treatment and a greater emphasis upon research in the area of milder forms of abuse were called for, as was better education for both men and women about the prevention of abuse. The authors also cited the need for the development of programs for initiators of abuse, and a greater openness among educators and practitioners to increase levels of reporting of physical and sexual abuse.
EVALUATION:
This study combines sound methodologies with a good sample size to allow for generalization to college-age dating individuals. It also examines initiators and victims of abuse separately, providing a greater understanding of the problem. However, it would be helpful to examine the issues surrounding physical and sexual abuse as they differentially affect different ages, races and classes of people, to see if these variables may provide alternative explanations for the findings. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - College Student Research
KW - Adult Victim
KW - Adult Female
KW - Adult Male
KW - Violence Against Women
KW - Partner Violence
KW - Dating Violence Victim
KW - Dating Violence Effects
KW - Help Seeking Behavior
KW - Gender Differences
KW - Sexual Assault Effects
KW - Sexual Assault Victim
KW - Male Victim
KW - Female Victim
KW - Date Rape
KW - Rape Victim
KW - Rape Effects
KW - Physical vs. Sexual Assault |