Methodologic concerns regarding estimates of physical violence in sexual coercion: overstatement or understatement?

Self-report measures of sexual violence that ask women whether they have experienced threats of physical violence have attracted criticism in recent years; detractors claim that these measures lead researchers to overestimate the prevalence of sexual violence. Our study explored this issue by collecting data on the prevalence of threats versus force in the context of sexual aggression. Female undergraduates at two universities (n1 = 69; n2 = 111) were asked about their experiences with sexual coercion using a revised version of the Sexual Experiences Scale (Koss and Gidycz, 1985). Four of the original items were modified to distinguish between sexual contact that occurred as a result of a perpetrator using physical force and sexual contact that occurred because a perpetrator threatened physical violence. Analyses of the revised items revealed that the use of physical force was at least as likely as threats and that for some types of sexual acts, physical force was actually more likely than verbal threats. Furthermore, prevalence figures for three of the four types of sexual acts considered were not significantly altered by collapsing threat of force with use of force. Implications for future research on women's experiences of sexual coercion are discussed.