Undergraduate Men\u27s Perceptions of Consent in College Campus Acquaintance Rape

One in five women on college campuses have experienced sexual assault or attempted sexual assault (National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2015). About 98% of sexual violence perpetrators are men (Greenfield, 1997). The present study seeks to examine whether a range of individual difference characteristics, including endorsement of masculine gender norms, endorsement of modern myths about sexual assault, and self-reported sexual behavior, predict participants’ evaluations of a hypothetical acquaintance rape scenario. One hundred fifty college men completed a survey consisting of the Male Role Norm Inventory (MRNI), followed by the Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression (AMMSA) and the Sexual Experiences Scale (SES). They then read a hypothetical acquaintance rape scenario, and indicated whether the woman provided consent, whether the encounter qualifies as rape, and their attributions of responsibility toward the victim and perpetrator for the encounter. Men who endorsed male role norms and accepted modern myths about rape were more likely to attribute blame to the victim in the acquaintance rape scenario. While men who did not endorse male role norms or accept modern myths about rape were more likely to attribute blame to the perpetrator