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Drug-facilitated sexual assault: college women's risk perception and behavioral choices
Emily Crawford1, Margaret O'Dougherty Wright, Zachary Birchmeier
1Miami University of Ohio, Oxford, OH 45056, USA. crawfoeb@muohio.edu
Objective:
The authors investigated relationships among prior victimization, risk perceptions, and behavioral choices in responding to drug-facilitated sexual assault in a college party where alcohol is available.
Participants And Methods:
From fall 2003 to spring 2004, over 400 female undergraduates rated risk perception following an acquaintance rape vignette.
Results:
In general, participants tended to perceive the risk of having someone else pour their beer; however, they did not tend to perceive the risk of leaving one's beer unattended. Results also indicated that college students who felt ill at a party were not likely to suspect the presence of a date-rape drug and when sexual assault occurred, a significant minority of respondents blamed the victim. Victims of prior sexual assault were more likely to report that they would make risky choices, such as accepting a male acquaintance's offer to help them into their bedroom.
Conclusions:
Implications for the prevention of sexual assault are discussed.
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