Sexual aggression and love styles: an exploratory study

The relationship between sexual aggression and theoretical love styles was studied. Based on self-reported sexual history, 63 college men were grouped as having either consensual sexual experience only (n = 33) or having verbally coercive sexual experience (n = 30). Analyses were conducted using six love style scales, likelihood to rape, likelihood to use sexual force, masculinity, and sociopathy to predict sexual coercive group membership. Logistic regression indicated that the Ludus love style, a manipulative, game-playing orientation towards intimate relationships, was the best predictor of sexual coercion among the six love styles. Additionally, logistic regression indicated that the Ludus love style was as effective in classifying men as coercive or noncoercive as other dispositions related to sexual aggression. These results suggest that the Ludus love style may serve as a unifying construct for dispositions related to sexual aggression. This study constitutes an initial attempt to link sexually coercive behaviors to a theoretical model of intimate relationships. Results are discussed in the context of a situational model of sexual coercion.