%0 Journal Article
%T Beliefs about consent and sexual assault perpetration in a longitudinal study of college men
%J Violence and victims
%D 2019
%A Zinzow, Heidi M.
%A Thompson, Martie
%V 34
%N 3
%P 548-565
%X This study examined the mediating role of beliefs about both active and passive consent in the prospective associations between sexual assault (SA) risk factors and coercive, incapacitated, and forcible attempted/completed SA among college men. Participants were 471 college men who completed self-report surveys at the end of each of their 4 years of college. SA risk factors (risky behavior, rape-supportive beliefs and peer norms, personality traits, childhood adversity) were assessed at Wave 1, beliefs about consent were assessed at Wave 2, and perpetration was assessed at Waves 3 and 4. Multivariate regression models with bias-corrected bootstrapping assessed longitudinal mediation. SA risk factors were negatively associated with endorsement of active consent (verbal approval required) and positively associated with passive consent (assume "yes" until you hear a "no"), with strongest effects observed for coercive SA. Both types of beliefs about consent served as mediators between risk factors and perpetration. <br><br>FINDINGS suggest that prevention programs should include a focus on reducing SA risk factors, clarifying definitions of consent, and improving sexual communication.<br><br>© Copyright 2019 Springer Publishing Company, LLC.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I Springer Publishing
%@ 0886-6708
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-18-00014