Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Toward Rape are Associated With Sexual Aggression

Abstract

We examined the relationship between self-reported sexual aggression and implicit and explicit attitudes towards rape in a sample of 86 male heterosexual university students. Large, significant group differences were found between the most sexually aggressive participants and the nonaggressive participants, with the most sexually aggressive group showing less negative implicit and explicit attitudes towards rape (Cohen’s d = 0.76-1.20). Implicit and explicit attitudes provided complementary information such that together they were more strongly associated with sexual aggression than on their own. The current findings suggest that implicit and explicit attitudes towards rape are associated with sexual aggression. In addition to the broader set of cognitions that appear to be assessed by most self-report measures, the narrower construct of attitudes towards rape may be a fruitful avenue of further exploration for research, assessment, and treatment of sexual aggression.