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Developmental Trajectories Leading to Hostility Toward Women: A Structural Equation Modeling Study
Caroline Deli1, Etienne Garant1, Alexandre Gauthier1
1School of Criminology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Violence Against Women
|May 24, 2024
Summary
Childhood victimization can lead to hostility toward women through pathways involving antisocial traits, emotional negativity, anxiety, and depression. This study explored these developmental antecedents in Canadian sexual aggressors.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Criminology
- Sociology
Background:
- Hostility toward women is a known risk factor for sexual violence.
- Research on the antecedents of this hostility is limited.
- Understanding these origins is crucial for prevention efforts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the developmental and psychological factors contributing to hostility toward women.
- To examine these antecedents in a sample of Canadian sexual aggressors.
- To test a multifactorial model based on Malamuth's confluence model.
Main Methods:
- Utilized structural equation modeling to analyze data.
- Investigated developmental pathways from childhood victimization.
- Examined the role of antisocial characteristics, emotional negativity, anxiety, and depression.
Main Results:
- Identified three distinct developmental trajectories leading to hostility toward women.
- All trajectories originated from childhood victimization.
- Antisocial characteristics, emotional negativity, anxiety, and depression were significant factors.
Conclusions:
- Childhood victimization is a key precursor to hostility toward women.
- Multiple psychological and developmental factors mediate this relationship.
- Findings inform interventions aimed at preventing sexual violence.
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