TY - JOUR A1 - Schuster, Isabell A1 - Tomaszewska, Paulina A1 - Krahé, Barbara T1 - Changing cognitive risk factors for sexual aggression BT - Risky sexual scripts, low sexual self-esteem, perception of pornography, and acceptance of sexual coercion JF - Journal of interpersonal violence N2 - Sexual aggression is a problem among college students worldwide, and a growing body of research has identified variables associated with an increased risk of victimization and perpetration. Among these, sexuality-related cognitions, such as sexual scripts, sexual self-esteem, perceived realism of pornography, and acceptance of sexual coercion, play a major role. The current experimental study aimed to show that these cognitive risk factors of sexual aggression victimization and perpetration are amenable to change, which is a critical condition for evidence-based intervention efforts. College students in Germany (N = 324) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a treatment group designed to change participants' sexual scripts for consensual sex with regard to the role of alcohol consumption, casual sex, and ambiguous communication of sexual intentions as risk factors for sexual aggression (EG1), a treatment group designed to promote sexual self-esteem, challenge the perceived realism of pornography, and reduce the acceptance of sexual coercion (EG2), and a non-treatment control group (CG). Baseline (T1), post-experimental (T2), and follow-up (T3) measures were taken across an eight-week period. Sexual scripts contained fewer risk factors for sexual aggression in EG1 than in EG2 and CG at T3. Sexual self-esteem was enhanced in EG2 at T2 relative to the other two groups. Acceptance of sexual coercion was lower in EG2 than in EG1 and CG at T2 and T3. No effect was found for perceived realism of pornography. The findings are discussed in terms of targeting cognitive risk factors as a basis for intervention programs. KW - sexual aggression KW - sexual scripts KW - sexual self-esteem KW - sexual coercion KW - college students Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520922341 SN - 0886-2605 SN - 1552-6518 VL - 37 IS - 3-4 SP - NP1377 EP - NP1400 PB - Sage Publ. CY - Thousand Oaks ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Krahé, Barbara A1 - Berger, Anja T1 - Correlates of victim-perpetrator overlap in sexual aggression among men and women BT - a conceptual replication and extension JF - Psychology of violence N2 - Objective: The study replicated and extended a study by Peterson, Beagley, McCallum, and Artime (2019), who studied differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors in men who were both victims and perpetrators of sexual assault, only victims, only perpetrators, or neither. They found a heightened rate of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and some evidence of greater traumatic sexualization in men who were both victims and perpetrators. Method: Our sample consisted of 2,149 college students (39.6% male) in Germany. We measured sexual aggression perpetration and victimization, CSA, sexual self-esteem, depressive symptoms, risky sexual scripts, and risky sexual behavior. Results: Perpetration rates were significantly higher among victims than among nonvictims, and the victim-perpetrator group scored highest on CSA. A significant effect of group membership was found on measures of depressive symptoms, risky sexual scripts, and risky sexual behavior in both sex groups, mainly due to differences of the victim-only, perpetrator-only, and victim-perpetrator groups from the nonvictim-nonperpetrator group. The effect on sexual self-esteem was found for women only. Few differences emerged between the victim-only, perpetrator-only, and victim-perpetrator groups. Most associations remained significant when controlling for CSA. Conclusion: We found a substantial overlap between victimization and perpetration but no evidence for a special vulnerability of the victim-perpetrator group. Instead, experiences of victimization, perpetration, or both were linked to more negative correlates compared with individuals who were neither victims nor perpetrators. The findings need to be interpreted with caution due to the small number of individuals in the perpetrator-only and victim-perpetrator groups. KW - victim-perpetrator overlap KW - childhood sexual abuse KW - sexual aggression KW - sexual scripts KW - depressive symptoms Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000282 SN - 2152-0828 SN - 2152-081X VL - 10 IS - 5 SP - 564 EP - 574 PB - American Psychological Association CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Krahé, Barbara A1 - Berger, Anja T1 - Pathways from college students’ cognitive scripts for consensual sex to sexual victimization BT - a three-wave longitudinal study JF - The journal of sex research : the publication of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex N2 - Sexual scripts serve as cognitive representations of typical elements of sexual interactions that guide sexual behavior. To the extent that cognitive scripts for consensual sex comprise elements associated with a risk of experiencing nonconsensual sex, they may be indirectly linked to sexual victimization via risky sexual behavior. A longitudinal study with 2,425 college students in Germany (58% female) examined pathways from sexual scripts for consensual sex, sexual behavior, and sexual victimization over three data waves separated by 12-month intervals. Sexual scripts and behavior were defined as risky to the extent that they include known vulnerability factors for sexual victimization (casual sex, alcohol consumption, ambiguous communication of sexual intentions). Path analyses confirmed that more risky sexual scripts prospectively predicted more risky sexual behavior, which predicted higher odds of sexual victimization. The findings held for men and women and participants with exclusively opposite-sex and both same- and opposite-sex contacts. Moreover, reciprocal influences between risky scripts and risky sexual behavior were found over time, confirming the proposed mutual reinforcement of scripts and behavior. The findings have implications for conceptualizing the role of scripts for consensual sex as vulnerability factors for sexual victimization among women and men and may inform intervention efforts. KW - sexual scripts KW - sexual victimization KW - sexual behavior KW - college students KW - Germany Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2021.1972922 SN - 0022-4499 SN - 1559-8519 VL - 58 IS - 9 SP - 1130 EP - 1139 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tomaszewska, Paulina A1 - Schuster, Isabell T1 - Comparing sexuality-related cognitions, sexual behavior, and acceptance of sexual coercion in dating app users and non-users JF - Sexuality research & social policy N2 - Using dating apps has become popular for many young adults worldwide, promising the chance to meet new sexual partners. Because there is evidence that using dating apps may be associated with risky sexual behavior, this study compared users and non-users concerning their sexuality-related cognitions, namely their risky sexual scripts and sexual self-esteem, as well as their risky and sexually assertive behavior. It also explored the link between dating app use and acceptance of sexual coercion. A total of 491 young heterosexual adults (295 female) participated in an online survey advertised in social media and college libraries in Germany. Results indicated that users had more risky sexual scripts and reported more risky sexual behavior than non-users. Furthermore, male dating app users had lower sexual self-esteem and higher acceptance of sexual coercion than male non-users. In both gender groups, dating app use predicted casual sexual activity via a more risky casual sex script. Gender differences, potential underlying mechanisms, and directions for future research are discussed. KW - dating app use KW - sexual scripts KW - sexual behavior KW - acceptance of sexual KW - coercion KW - young adults Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-019-00397-x SN - 1868-9884 SN - 1553-6610 VL - 17 IS - 2 SP - 188 EP - 198 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schuster, Isabell A1 - Krahe, Barbara T1 - Predictors of sexual aggression perpetration among male and female college students BT - Cross-Cultural Evidence From Chile and Turkey JF - Sexual abuse : official journal of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) N2 - This two-wave longitudinal study examined risky sexual scripts and sexual behavior regarding consensual sexual interactions, sexual self-esteem, initiation assertiveness, and religiosity as predictors of sexual aggression perpetration in a cross-cultural comparison of college students in Chile and Turkey. As predicted, risky sexual scripts were linked to higher odds of perpetration through more risky sexual behavior cross-sectionally in both the Chilean and the Turkish sample and indirectly predicted perpetration 12 months later. High sexual self-esteem increased the likelihood of perpetration via higher initiation assertiveness in the Turkish sample only. High religiosity reduced the odds of perpetration through less risky sexual scripts and less risky sexual behavior in both samples. In addition, high religiosity increased the probability of perpetration through lower sexual self-esteem in the Turkish sample. Implications of these findings and the role of cultural factors contributing to the differential functioning of religiosity and sexual self-esteem are discussed. KW - sexual aggression perpetration KW - risk factors KW - sexual scripts KW - Chile KW - Turkey Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063218793632 SN - 1079-0632 SN - 1573-286X VL - 31 IS - 3 SP - 318 EP - 343 PB - Sage CY - Thousand Oaks ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Krahé, Barbara T1 - Predicting sexual aggression in male college students in Brazil JF - Psychology of men & masculinity N2 - The study is the first to provide data on risk factors for sexual aggression in male college students in Brazil. A total of N = 286 participants took part in the study, of whom a subsample of n = 120 participated in two measurements separated by a 6-month interval. Cognitive (i.e., risky sexual scripts, normative beliefs), behavioral (i.e., pornography use, sexual behavior patterns), and biographical (i.e., childhood abuse) risk factors were linked to sexual aggression both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, with the path models for the cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses demonstrating good fit with the data consistent with the hypotheses. The extent to which risk factors for sexual aggression (alcohol consumption, casual sex, and ambiguous communication) were included and normatively accepted in participants' cognitive scripts for consensual sex was linked to sexual aggression through risky sexual behavior. Risky sexual behavior was further predicted by childhood abuse, and pornography use was linked to sexual aggression via risky sexual scripts. The findings contribute evidence from Brazil to the international database on risk factors for sexual aggression in male college students. KW - sexual aggression KW - sexual scripts KW - pornography KW - childhood abuse KW - Brazil Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032789 SN - 1524-9220 SN - 1939-151X VL - 15 IS - 2 SP - 152 EP - 162 PB - American Psychological Association CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Krahé, Barbara T1 - Pornography use, sexual scripts, and sexual aggression in adolescence JF - Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und pädagogische Psychologie N2 - The link between pornography use, normative acceptance of sexual aggression, and the presence of risk factors of sexual aggression in sexual scripts for consensual sexual interactions was studied in a sample of 197 adolescents in Germany. Risk factors included sex after only a short acquaintanceship, alcohol and drug use in sexual interactions, and ambiguous communication of sexual intentions. In addition to a measure of overall pornography use, exposure to portrayals of consensual sex, coerced sex and degrading sex was measured. Almost all participants had seen pornografic material at least once, just under half had seen depictions of coerced sex. Significant correlations were found between all measures of pornography use and the presence of risk factors of sexual aggression in consensual sexual scripts. Violent pornography usage showed a positive correlation with the normative acceptance of sexual aggression that was partly accounted for by sexual scripts. The findings are discussed with regard to the significance of pornografic media contents in the process of adolescents' sexual socialization. KW - pornography KW - violent pornography KW - sexual scripts KW - adolescent sexuality Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1026/0049-8637/a000044 SN - 0049-8637 VL - 43 IS - 3 SP - 133 EP - 141 PB - Hogrefe CY - Göttingen ER -