Investigating the Risk of Date Rape by Auditory Status

This exploratory study examines the impact of auditory status, gender, and prior sexual victimization on attitudes and behaviors related to date rape among undergraduate college students (n = 3,352) at a private university in the northeast. An abbreviated version of the College Date Rape Attitude and Behavior Survey (Lanier & Elliot, 1997) and the Sexual Experiences Survey (Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987) were employed. Findings indicated that Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students were more likely to experience negative sexual experiences than hearing students. No differences were found in rape-supportive attitudes by auditory status. The analysis also found that DHH students were more likely to engage in sexual behaviors that increase the risk of date rape than were hearing students. Finally, significant differences were found regarding gender and prior sexual victimization on rape attitudes and behaviors. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.