1. College Students’ Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence and Rape Myth Acceptance Rebecca Mercado Thornton Mentor: Dr. Lesley Withers Communication September 28, 2007

2. Why This Topic? Sexual Aggression Peer Advocates Future programming Prevalence

3. Definitions Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Actual or threatened Physical/sexual violence or psychological/emotional abuse Directed at spouse/ex-spouse, current/former boy/girlfriend, or current/former dating partner (Swanberg, Logan, & Macke, 2005) Rape Myths Attitudes/beliefs that are generally false Widely and persistently held Deny and justify male sexual aggression against women (Lonsway & Fitzgerald,1995)

4. Background Numerous studies examined general IPV facts and rape myth acceptance numbers. However, there are: Contradictory findings on ethnicity and race as a factor (Ramirez; Smith et al., 2005) Few that examine college students’ misconceptions about IPV and rape myths (Goetz et al., 2006; Miller & Bukva, 2001; Nabors, 2006; Witte et al., 2006)

5. Critique Few in ethnically homogenous regions Contradictory findings for effects of ethnicity on IPV Majority of research focused on cohabitating couples, not dating couples Many studies looked at sexual assault, not perceptions of IPV Little known about factors affecting college students’ perceptions of IPV and rape myths

6. Research Questions Do college women and men differ in their perceptions of IPV? Do college women and men differ in their acceptance of rape myths? Is ethnicity a factor in college students’ perceptions of IPV? Is ethnicity a factor in students’ acceptance of rape myths?

7. Methods Participants (N = 241); convenience sample recruited: Online: Facebook.com paid advertisements (5 days; 10,000 views per day) In class: Summer 2007 Questionnaire on Surveymonkey.com Informed consent Burt ’ s (1980) Rape Myth Acceptance (RMA) scale,  =.86 Burt ’ s (1980) Acceptance of Interpersonal Violence (AIV) scale,  =.57 Lonsway & Fitzgerald ’ s (1995) Attitudes Towards Violence (ATV) scale,  =.87 Lonsway & Fitzgerald (1995) Rape Myth (RM) scale,  =.92

8. Results Research Question 1 Males had significantly more positive attitudes toward violence than females on both measures ATV scale: t (221) = 4.145, p <.001 AIV scale: t (222) = 2.43, p =.016 Research Question 2 Males were significantly more accepting of rape myths than females on both measures RMA scale: t (222) = 4.43, p <.001 RM Scale: t (221) = 3.82, p <.001

9. Results Research Question 3 Is ethnicity a factor in college students’ perceptions of IPV? ATV scale: No significant differences found, F (6,216) =.88, p <.508 AIV scale: Significant differences found, F (6, 217) = 2.75, p <.014 Post hoc analyses of AIV scale: Some evidence that Latinos may be more accepting of violence than white students (LSD, MD =.723, p =.003; Scheffe, MD =.723, p =.168)

10. Results Research Question 4 Students of color were not significantly more accepting of rape myths than white students on either measure RMA scale: t (222) =1.61, p =.108 Rape Myth scale: t (221) = 1.529, p =.128

11. Discussion Results raise concerns about effects of gender socialization in the U.S. Female objectification in the media is a concern Future research: Recruit more male participants, students of color Further compare Latinos and white students’ perceptions of IPV Investigate potential sources of gender stereotypes for Latino racial communities Results can be used to aid universities’ attempts to reduce IPV; campus educational programs can be tailored to prevent IPV situations

12. Questions? College Students’ Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence and Rape Myth Acceptance