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Promiscuous men more likely to rape

Study by Leicester psychologists presented at conference

Issued on 23 June 2009

This is one of the findings of Sophia Shaw and colleagues from the University of Leicester who will present their research at the British Psychological Society Division of Forensic Psychology Annual Conference today, Tuesday 23rd June, at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston.

First, 101 men aged between 18 and 70 completed questionnaires regarding their sexual history, personality and aggression. They were then asked to imagine themselves in different scenarios with one woman but varying her dress, how much alcohol she had drank, how assertive she was and how many previous sexual partners she had.

Men who considered themselves sexually experienced were willing to coerce the woman to a later stage in the scenario than those with less sexual experience. These men also reported that they found resistance from a woman sexually arousing.

Alcohol, however, had the opposite effect than predicted, with participants more likely to coerce women who were sober rather than drunk.

Sophia explained: "Previous research has suggested that women are more likely to be raped by someone they know, yet they fear rape by strangers more. This study was concerned with examining the factors that lead men to have a greater likelihood to commit rape in scenarios involving a woman who was an acquaintance."

"We can see from the results that sexually experienced men are more likely to coerce women in sexual situations; even more so if they believe the women to be sexually experienced."

The conference is being held at the University of Central Lancashire from the 23rd to 25th June. The full programme is available on the Society’s website DFP2009

For more information contact The Media Centre, the British Psychological Society, 0116 2529500 or email mediacentre@bps.org.uk

Source: The British Psychological Society: Click here to view the release on the BPS website.