Predicting the Use of Sexually Coercive Strategies in Young Heterosexual Men: Combining the Dual Control Model with...

Sexual aggression is a widespread problem that despite increased prevention efforts remains highly prevalent. Although research has focused on a myriad of predictors of sexual aggression perpetration, basic sexual processes, related to sexual motivation and response, have as yet not been studied extensively. The current study examined the value of combining factors from two theoretical models that have been associated with sexual aggression perpetration, the confluence model and the dual control model of sexual response. A total of 619 heterosexual men (M age = 22.50 years, SD = 3.40) completed a series of questionnaires assessing hostile masculinity, impersonal sex, sexual excitation (SES), sexual inhibition (SIS1, SIS2), and men's history of using different types of sexually coercive strategies. Negative binomial regressions were used to estimate the predictive value of confluence model and dual control model factors and to test relevant interactions and mediation effects. Results support the confluence model and revealed a role for SES and SIS1, the latter in interaction with hostile masculinity. Moreover, exploratory analyses revealed that the importance of and interplay among predictors varies with type of strategy, pointing at the need for more differentiation between sexually aggressive strategies in future research.