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Article Excerpt
AN ESTIMATED 50% OF SEXUAL ASSAULTS among young adult populations involve alcohol use on the part of the victim, the perpetrator, or both (for reviews, see Abbey, 2002; Abbey et al., 2004; Testa and Parks, 1996). Sexual assaults perpetrated against an intoxicated woman are more likely to be completed (i.e., to result in sexual intercourse), compared with assaults perpetrated against sober women (for a review, see Ullman, 2003). Alcohol consumption may impair women's ability to recognize and avoid potential sexual assault and their ability to respond effectively to unwanted sexual advances. The current research was designed to examine the impact of women's alcohol consumption on risk perception and intended response to a hypothetical situation that juxtaposes desire for sexual intimacy with potential for sexual assault. By permitting manipulation of risk levels and control of extraneous variables, experimental analog methodology offers a promising means for examining potential mechanisms that may help explain the association between alcohol and sexual assault.
Most sexual assaults are perpetrated by men known to the victims, with dating partners making up a large percentage of perpetrators (Koss, 1988). Many sexual assault incidents arise from situations involving consensual sexual activity (Harrington and Leitenberg, 1994; Testa and Livingston, 1999). Sexual assaults involving dating partners are important to study, because they are normative. Moreover, it is in such situations that alcohol may play a particularly important role. According to Norris et al. (1996), women "walk a cognitive tightrope" in socializing with men, as they seek to facilitate intimate relationships while maintaining personal safety. In social situations (e.g., bars and parties), women are more likely to focus on the dominant "good times" aspects of the situation. Contrary cognitions (e.g., danger cues) are presumed to be less salient and more difficult to access (Norris et al., 1996). Theories of alcohol-induced cognitive impairment (e.g., Steele and Southwick, 1985) offer a way of understanding how women's alcohol consumption can increase vulnerability to sexual assault in social situations. According to these models, in situations with both instigatory and inhibitory pressures on behavior, alcohol-related impairment is specific to inhibitory cues, which require more processing to access and understand relative to the more salient instigatory cues. Consider a woman who is conflicted about how to behave when faced with sexual advances from a man in whom she is interested. When sober, she may be able to access inhibitory cues that favor caution, but impaired processing of these cues after drinking may make her more likely to act to facilitate intimacy rather than to ensure her sexual safety.
Experimental research supports the notion that alcohol impairs the ability to detect risk in situations that offer potential positive consequences, thereby increasing intentions to engage in pleasurable but potentially risky activities (e.g., Fromme et al., 1997). Testa et al. (2000) examined the effect of women's alcohol consumption on their responses to a social situation involving a presumed conflict between intimacy and safety motives. Compared with sober women, women who consumed alcohol perceived that sexual approach behaviors would result in more positive outcomes and fewer negative outcomes and, not surprisingly, were more likely to anticipate engaging in those activities. In studies involving more explicit sexual aggression scenarios, alcohol consumption was associated with decreased ability to detect sexual aggression risk (Norris et al., 2003) and increased willingness to consent to sex (Norris et al., in press). Across several studies, Stoner et al. (2005) found that after consuming a high dose of alcohol, women anticipated engaging in less direct resistance and more polite resistance than women who had consumed a low dose, a placebo, or a nonalcoholic drink. Polite resistance strategies (e.g., making excuses) avoid harm to the relationship but are less effective than direct resistance strategies in stopping sexual advances (Muehlenhard et al., 1995).
To replicate and extend this research, we examined the impact of alcohol consumption on women's responses to a hypothetical scenario that described desire to facilitate an intimate relationship while providing cues suggestive of unwanted sexual advances. Steele and Southwick (1985) suggest that the risky behavior of intoxicated people reflects their difficulty in recognizing inhibiting cues or perceiving their meaning. Accordingly, we examined whether the relationship between intoxication and behavior is mediated via risk perceptions. We hypothesized that in a high-conflict situation, higher breath alcohol concentrations (BrACs) would be associated with lower perceived risk, which would predict less direct resistance to sexual advances and a greater tendency toward passive responding. We also assessed polite resistance but offered no hypothesis. Hypotheses were tested by means of a field experiment conducted in a bar. Experimental analog studies typically are conducted in an artificial environment, which may cause self-consciousness and unnatural behavior. In contrast, a bar is a natural setting for making decisions about pursuing sexual intimacy versus considering issues of safety (see MacDonald et al., 1996).
Study 1 Method
Participants
Participants in Study 1 were 51 female bar patrons, ages 20-38 (mean [SD] = 24.02 [3.17]) years, recruited in bars in Buffalo, NY. The sample was 96% white, and 96% identified themselves as heterosexual. Most (86%) of the women had at least some college education; 71% were employed full time, and 26% were employed part time.
Procedure
Two female experimenters approached women in bars, asking them to participate in a brief study of dating behaviors in exchange for a $5 gift certificate for food. Data were collected between 11:30 PM and 1:45 AM on two Saturday nights. Women who appeared to be intoxicated were not approached. The majority of those approached agreed to participate in the study, which took about 10 minutes. To minimize distraction, women were brought to a more secluded area of the bar. After providing written informed consent, they were asked to project themselves into a written scenario (available from the first author on request) as the female protagonist. The vignette described interest in initiating a relationship with an attractive man ("Michael"), consensual kissing, and, eventually, mild sexual aggression (breast fondling and forceful kissing despite the woman's hesitation). After completing questionnaires assessing perceived risk and intended resistance, BrAC was assessed with a handheld breath analyzer (Alco-Sensor; Intoximeters Inc., St. Louis, MO). Participants were debriefed, paid, and given guidelines for safe drinking as well as the phone number of a taxi company.
Dependent measures
Perceived risk in the scenario was assessed by asking how likely the situation is to result in four positive items (e.g., "another date with Michael") that were interspersed with six negative items (e.g., "concern for personal safety"). Response options ranged from 1 (not at all) to 7 (very likely). Principal components analysis revealed a single factor. Hence, items were averaged to form a composite risk-perceptions subscale...
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