Confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis of a rape myth acceptance model and scale

A model of rape myth acceptance (RMA) was proposed which accounts for the domain of rape myths along two axes. The first axis divides myths into two groups: those myths which are used to blame females for rape and those used to excuse males. The second axis divides the same myths into three further groups along a continuum according to whether they indicate a denial of the occurrence of rape, a belief that rape occurs but is essentially harmless, or a belief that rape occurs and is harmful but should be blamed on survivors rather than on rapists. These six groups of rape myths were seen as being conceptually distinct. A RMA scale containing 48 items was developed according to the specifications of the model and was administered to 299 undergraduate students. Confirmatory factor analysis results indicated that the model did not achieve a good fit with the data, either in its original configuration or in modified versions which were created to isolate for the effects of each of the model axes alone. Exploratory factor analysis results showed the scale to have four correlated factors, two of which measure a general factor, one factor measuring rape as harmless, and a final factor excusing rapists based on sexual urges. The dichotomy between blaming females and excusing males only held up at the level of blaming survivors after the fact; and the separation of the myths along a continuum of severity was not supported, except that the items at the midpoint of the continuum were more uniformly rejected. Thus, the matrix model did not fit the data well, and the scale could not be said to entirely represent the model, either. Thus, whether the scale accurately measured participants\u27 actual RMA remained unresolved. Recommendations were made for further RMA scale development