Victim and Offender Blame in Sexual Assault: The Role of Alcohol

• In Event: Poster Session I

Abstract

In this study, an experimental simulation, participants read a brief description of a sexual assault and were asked to assume that the female victim was a friend to whom they would give advice about reporting. There were three experimental manipulations: (1) level of the victim’s intoxication (no drinking, drunk, unconscious); (2) level of the offender’s intoxication (no drinking, intoxicated); and (3) relationship between the victim and the offender (stranger, friend). Participants, students in undergraduate classes, indicated how strongly they would advise their female friend to report the incident to the police. Participants also completed items about the perceived responsibility and blame of the victim and the offender, their drinking behavior, and their attitudes about sexual behavior. Results indicated that offender blame was affected only by the level of the offender’s intoxication: drunk offenders were perceived to be less blameworthy than sober offenders. Victim blame was affected by participants’ gender (males blamed victims more), by the interaction of participant gender and the relationship between the victim and the offender, by participant gender and the level of offender intoxication, and by the interaction of level of victim intoxication, level of offender intoxication, and the relationship between the victim and the offender.

Authors

• Meghan Moorhouse, Penn State University

• Barry Ruback, Pennsylvania State University