Self-efficacy, self-determination and victim blaming as predictors of adolescent sexual victimization

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1 HEALTH EDUCATION RESEARCH Theory & Practice Vol.13 no.l 1998 Pages SHORT COMMUNICATION Self-efficacy, self-determination and victim blaming as predictors of adolescent sexual victimization J. F. Walsh and V. Foshee 1 Abstract Attitudinal constructs hypothesized to be related to sexual victimization were assessed as part of a baseline survey on adolescent dating violence. Subjects were eighth and ninth graders in 14 schools in a rural school district in North Carolina. A follow-up survey was completed 6 months later. Girls who had not reported forced sexual activity at baseline (A 7 = 732) were assessed to determine whether forced sexual activity during the intervening 6 months was predicted by levels of self-efficacy, self-determination or victim blaming at baseline. Results indicate that levels of self-efficacy, but not selfdetermination or victim blaming, predict the likelihood of experiencing forced sexual activity in this adolescent female population. Recommendations are made for the inclusion of components promoting self-efficacy development in sexual assault prevention programs for females in this age group. Introduction The sexual victimization of adolescent females is a major public health problem in the US. The prevalence of sexual molestation, defined as sexual touching between children or adolescents under age 18 and persons who either force or coerce National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC and 'Curriculum in Public Health Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA them, or are 5 years older or more, is approximately one in three females (Browne and Finklehor, 1986). Russell (1984) found that 38% of her community sample had experienced either rape or molestation prior to age 18. Walsh (1994) found that 33% of a college sample indicated sexual molestation before 18. Walker and colleagues' (1996) healthmaintenance organization sample indicated 30% childhood molestation. Sexual molestation most often begins at preadolescence, between ages 10 and 12 (Finkelhor et al., 1986). Rape before age 18 includes penile penetration either by force or when the female is 5 years or more younger than the male (Browne and Finklehor, 1986). Studies estimate that 13% (Kilpatrick et al., 1992) to 24% (Russell, 1984) of all women over 18 have been raped. Kilpatrick and colleagues found that, of women reporting rape, 62% (8% of all women) had been raped prior to age 18. Similar or higher rates of rape before 18 have been found elsewhere. Walch and Broadhead (1992) found that 8% of a community sample of women had been raped before 18, Walsh (1994) and Walker et al. (1996) both found that 9% of their samples endorsed having been raped before 18, and Small and Kerns (1993) found that 10% of a sample of 11th grade girls had been raped. These findings are based on forced incidents only and are therefore an underestimate. Women who have been sexually victimized prior to age 18, either by rape or molestation, are at increased risk of being victimized again in adulthood (Browne and Finkelhor, 1986; Russell, 1986; Hanson and Gidycz, 1993). Thus, the successful reduction of sexual assault incidence in females of all ages requires under- O Oxford University Press 139

2 J. F. Walsh and V. Foshee standing of the factors that may affect adolescent females' risk of initial sexual victimization. Theoretical correlates of victimization Although sexual victimization is more common during adolescence than at any other time, few studies have examined correlates of adolescent sexual victimization. This may be due in part to the difficulties in obtaining information about sexual victimization from representative samples of adolescents. The few studies that have assessed such correlates have been cross-sectional and therefore have been unable to distinguish whether the correlates were precursors or effects of sexual victimization (Moore et al, 1989; Small and Kerns, 1993). Studies that examine precursors of sexual victimization using longitudinal data are needed to inform the development of successful preventive interventions. In this study, we examined the associations between adolescents' experience of forced sexual activity and three theory-based constructs that may be amenable to change through prevention programs: (1) self-efficacy, (2) self-determination and (3) victim blaming. We used longitudinal data from a population of adolescents with no prior history of forced sexual activity to determine if these three constructs were precursors to forced sexual activity occurring within a 6 month followup period. The construct of self-efficacy is derived from Bandura's (1986) Social Cognitive Theory and is defined as the level of confidence a person has that she or he can successfully perform certain specific behaviors. In the context of this study, self-efficacy refers to the confidence a subject has that she can perform specific behaviors that would minimize her chances of being sexually victimized, either by preventing a victimization attempt from occurring or by preventing victimization (rape or molestation) if an attempt did occur. Numerous studies have found that resistance in various forms decreases the likelihood of rape completion, usually without increasing the likelihood of other types of injury (Cohen, 1984; Bart and O'Brien, 1985; Kleck and Sayles, 1990; Marchbanks et al, 1990). In a study of college students, self-efficacy for performing resistance behaviors was found to be negatively correlated with prior rape by a date or lover (Walsh, 1994). Because of the cross-sectional design of this study, it was not possible to determine whether lower self-efficacy for resistance was a precursor or an effect of rape. The association between self-efficacy for performing resistance behaviors and subsequent sexual victimization has not previously been tested. The second construct we examined, self-determination, is based largely on Gilligan's (1982) work on the meaning and importance of relationships to persons of either sex. She observed sex differences in morality that she described as an 'ethic of care' for women versus an 'ethic of rights' for men. Gilligan suggests that women are more likely than men to feel responsible for maintaining relationships, and that many more women than men feel morally obligated to rank their own needs and preferences after those of others. This quality can be beneficial if kept in balance with healthy self-protection, but is often carried to excess. Self-determination in the context of this study refers to the extent that one's own needs, particularly for safety and survival, take precedence over the perceived needs of others, specifically males. Women may be abused, both physically and sexually, by men with whom they have relationships. Many young women have been socially conditioned to accept such demands as a normal part of a caring relationship and this acceptance may make them more vulnerable to sexual victimization. Among college women, self-determination, like self-efficacy, has been found to be negatively correlated with rape by a date or lover (Walsh, 1994). Again, because this study used a crosssectional design, a temporal sequence could not be established and self-determination as a precursor to sexual victimization has not been assessed. The third construct, victim blaming, has its theoretical roots in 'just world' beliefs, as developed by Rubin and Peplau (1975). The belief 140

3 Predictors of adolescent sexual victimization in a 'just world' entails expectations that good will be rewarded and evil will be punished, and therefore that if bad things happen to certain people, those people must have brought misfortune upon themselves. Both women and men who score higher on 'just world' beliefs place more blame on rape victims, as well as victims of other negative events, than persons who score lower. Burt (1980) developed a set of items reflecting beliefs that only women who somehow 'deserve' rape experience rape and that men who rape are less than fully responsible for their actions. While men typically score higher than women on acceptance of such rape myths, many women do endorse them. For women, such rationalizations arise from a profound fear of rape. Some women try to avoid facing their own vulnerability to rape through victim blaming: they believe that because they are 'good' and do not do the 'bad' things that supposedly 'cause' men to rape, they will not be raped. We hypothesized that such beliefs might be precursors to sexual victimization because they may interfere with realistic awareness and with taking preventive measures. Victim blaming has not been previously assessed as a precursor to sexual victimization. Subjects Methods Data for this study were from self-administered questionnaires completed by adolescents in the eighth and ninth grades as part of a study testing the effects of an adolescent dating violence prevention program. During the fall of 1994, baseline data were collected from 81% (N = 1965) of all eighth and ninth graders from 14 schools in a primarily rural school district in North Carolina. Nineteen percent did not complete baseline questionnaires because (1) parents did not give consent (16%), or (2) they were either absent on both the initial and the make-up days of data collection, refused, had reading difficulties that precluded their completing the survey during the allotted time or were prevented from completing it by administrative complications (3%). Intervention activities were carried out in seven randomly chosen schools from November 1994 through March In April, follow-up data were collected from 1773 adolescents (90% of the baseline sample), using similar questionnaires. Of the adolescents in the panel (N = 1773), 902 were female. Of these, 137 (15%) reported at baseline that they had previously been forced to do something sexual that they did not want to do and 33 did not answer the question about forced sexual activity at baseline. These 170 females were eliminated from the analyses. The resulting sample of 732 female non-victims at baseline ranged in age from 12 to 16, with a mean age of 13.7 years. The racial composition of this sample was 78% white, 18% African- American, 1% Hispanic and 2% all others (Asian, American Indian and other). Measures The baseline and follow-up questionnaires addressed various aspects of dating violence, and most questions were identical in both. Variables used in the current analyses were: (1) five selfefficacy items, (2) four self-determination items, (3) three victim-blaming items and (4) the question, 'Has anyone ever forced you to do anything sexual that you did not want to do?'. Factor analysis was done on the 12 precursor items, using principal components extraction and varimax rotation. Three clear factors emerged. The victim-blaming items loaded at 0.78 and above, with a minimum difference of 0.69 from the next loading; the self-determination items loaded at 0.61 and above, with a minimum difference of 0.55 from the next loading; and the self-efficacy items loaded at 0.48 and above, with a minimum difference of 0.29 from the next loading. Cronbach's a values for the three groups of items were: self-efficacy 0.60, selfdetermination 0.62 and victim blaming Scale scores were created for each of the three constructs by averaging items. Response options for each precursor item ranged from 3 (strongly agree) to 0 (strongly disagree). 141

4 J. F. Walsh and V. Foshee Table I. Logistic regression results Variable P P Odds ratio 95% CI Multivariate model self-efficacy self-determination victim blaming treatment Bivariate models (self-efficacy as independent variable) all perpetrators (N = 63) date or peer (N = 49) date (N = 25) peer (N = 27) <0.05 <0.005 <0.005 < , , , , , , , , 1.04 Data analysis strategy Hypotheses were tested using logistic regression. Sexual victimization at follow-up was regressed on self-efficacy, self-determination and victim blaming at baseline. Because 51% of the sample (N = 371) received a dating violence prevention program between baseline and follow-up, all analyses controlled for this treatment condition. Results Sixty-three of the 732 girls who stated at baseline that they had not been subjected to forced sexual activity reported such an experience at followup. This is a 6 month incidence rate of 9% for these eighth and ninth grade females. Age and race distributions for these subjects were very similar to those for the entire sample of 732 girls. Forty-nine (78%) had been forced to do something sexual by a date or another adolescent; nine (14%) by a known adult and only one by a complete stranger. The first logistic regression model included the three constructs of self-efficacy, self-determination, victim blaming, the treatment condition and the three treatment-by-construct interactions as independent variables. All three treatment-byconstruct interactions were non-significant and were dropped from the analyses. The results from the second model, including the three constructs and treatment as independent variables, are given in Table I. As hypothesized, selfefficacy was found to be a significant predictor (P = -0.45, P = 0.03): the greater the selfefficacy, the less the likelihood of experiencing forced sexual activity, with an odds ratio of 0.64 per 0.2 increment in self-efficacy. Selfdetermination (P = 0.05, P = 0.85) and victim blaming (p = 0.17, P = 0.34) were not significant predictors of forced sexual activity, either in this model or in bivariate analyses. In bivariate analyses (also shown in Table I), self-efficacy was a significant predictor of sexual activity forced by any perpetrator (P = -0.59, P = 0.003, N = 63), of sexual activity forced by either dates or other peers (p= -0.64, P = 0.004, N = 49) and of sexual activity forced by dates (P = -0.64, P = 0.03, N = 25). Selfefficacy was not a predictor of sexual activity forced by non-date peers (N = 27), by known adults (N = 7), by adults just met (N = 3) or by persons in none of the above categories (N = 8). Sexual activity forced by a complete stranger was not analyzed, as this category was indicated by only one respondent Discussion Low self-efficacy for performing specific behaviors that would minimize risk predicts the experience of forced sexual activity. Self-efficacy appears to be highly protective, given the observed odds ratio of 0.64 per 0.2 increment in self-efficacy. 142

5 Predictors of adolescent sexual victimization Several hypotheses may be made for the lack of a significant effect of self-determination. It is possible that females in this age group who are more self-determined are more frequently exposed to or more targeted by some types of sexual aggressors and this may counterbalance any protective effect. They may go out more frequently, either on dates or alone, and thus be in vulnerable circumstances more often or they may be perceived as 'too independent 1 by some males and therefore be chosen as targets. Victim blaming also was non-significant. One reason for this may be that the diree items chosen to reflect this construct describe genuinely risky behaviors in this population. That is, dressing in 'sexy clothes' or going into a bedroom on a date may actually contribute to the likelihood of experiencing forced sexual activity in females of this age, particularly by a date or other peer. If so, despite the fact that the items as worded are myths ('is asking to be raped' or 'wants to have sex'), girls who endorse these victim-blaming items may be less likely to engage in these behaviors and therefore may decrease their risk. This may counterbalance the effect of any tendencies to be less realistic about the problem or less likely to take other behavioral precautions. We found a forced sexual activity rate of 9% over a 6 month period. This may be an underestimate of the rate in the entire group, because we did not examine forced sexual activity in those respondents who had reported this or who did not answer the question at baseline. It is also possible that some respondents who experienced sexual activity with known adults were missed due to the wording of the question, as sexual abuse by older persons does not always involve the use of force. Despite these limitations, however, enough cases of forced sexual activity occurred between surveys among respondents who had not experienced this at baseline to show a significant protective effect of serf-efficacy. The wording of the question ('Has anyone ever forced you...') allowed us to test only whether selfefficacy, self-determination and victim blaming were predictors of forced sexual activity in those who had not experienced this at baseline; we were not able to test whether these constructs predicted subsequent experience of forced sexual activity in those who did report it at baseline. Prior victimization is itself a highly significant risk factor for re-victimization (Wyatt et al., 1992; Gidycz etal., 1993; Small and Kerns, 1993; Mayall and Gold, 1995). There is evidence that females who have already been victimized may be less likely to benefit from sexual assault prevention programs (Hanson and Gidycz, 1993). If this is the case, it is imperative that new and more effective methods be found to address the needs of these women and girls. Increased emphasis on building self-efficacy among females who have histories of prior sexual victimization may improve prevention outcomes, and enable more women to avoid the destructive mental and physical health effects of repeated sexual assault A number of studies have found that the vast majority of sexual victimization is perpetrated by males who are known to the victims (Russell, 1984; Koss et al., 1987; Kilpatrick et al, 1992; Walsh, 1994). This finding is corroborated by the present study: among the 63 females who reported forced sexual activity between interviews, only one reported having been forced by a complete stranger; the vast majority (49) reported forced sexual activity either by dates or by persons close to the same age whom respondents were not dating. The association between self-efficacy and subsequent forced sexual activity may vary by the relationship to the perpetrator. Walsh (1994) found that self-efficacy and prior rape were significantly associated only for rapes perpetrated by dates or lovers. In the present study, we did not have sufficient numbers in perpetrator categories other than dates or other peers to perform these analyses. In conclusion, the development of self-efficacy for sexual assault prevention should be a primary goal of junior high school education, especially for girls. Interventions to reduce sexual victimization, in particular victimization by dates and other peers, should add elements not always present and rarely stressed in previous programs: modeling, role-plays and discussions to build self-efficacy for the performance of various skills, including precautionary 143

6 J. F. Walsh and V. Foshee behaviors, assertive communication and physical self-defense. Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank Heidi S. Resnick for helpful comments. References Bart, P. and O'Brien, P. (1985) Stopping Rapt. Pergamon Press, New York. Bandura, A. (1986) Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social and Cognitive Theory. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Browne, A. and Rnkelhor, D. (1986) Impact of childhood sexual abuse: areviewof the research. Psychological Bulletin, 99, Burt, M. R. (1980) Cultural myths and supports for rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, Cohen, P. B. (1984) Resistance during sexual assaults: avoiding rape and injury. Victimology, 9, Finkelhor, D., Araji, S., Baron, L., Browne, A., Peters, S. D. and Wyatt, G. E. (1986) A Sourcebook on Child Sexual Abuse. Sage, Newbury Park, CA. Gidycz, C. A., Coble, C. N., Latham, L. and Layman, M. J. (1993) Relation of a sexual assault experience in adulthood to prior victimization experiences: a prospective analysis. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 17, Gilligan, C. (1982) In a Different Voice. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA Hanson, K. A. and Gidycz, C. A. (1993) Evaluation of a sexual assault prevention program. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, Kilpatrick, D. G., Edmunds, C. N. and Seymour, A. (1992) Rape in America. National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Charleston, SC. Kleck, G. and Sayles, S. (1990) Rape and resistance. Social Problems, 37, Koss, M. P., Gidycz, C. A. and Wisniewski, N. (1987) The scope of rape: incidence and prevalence of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of higher education students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, Marchbanks, P. A., Lui, K.-J. and Mercy, J. A. (1990) Risk of injury from resisting rape. American Journal of Epidemiology, 132, MayaU, A. and Gold, S. R. (1985) Definitional issues and mediating variables in the sexual revictimization of women sexually abused as children. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 10, Moore, K. A., Nord, C. W. and Peterson, J. L. (1989) Nonvoluntary sexual activity among adolescents. Family Planning Perspectives, 21, Russell, D. E. H. (1984) Sexual Exploitation: Rape, Child Sexual Abuse, and Workplace Harassment. Sage, Beverly Hills, CA. Small, S. A. and Kems, D. (1993) Unwanted sexual activity among peers during early and middle adolescence: incidence and risk factors. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55, Walch, A. G. and Broadhead, E. B. (1992) Prevalence of lifetime sexual victimization among female patients. Journal of Family Practice, 35, Walker, E. A., Koss, M. P. and Katon, W. J. (19%) Medical sequelae of sexual and physical victimization of women: a pilot study. Abstract from the North American Society for Psychosocial Obstetrics and Gynecology Annual Meeting, Santa Fe, NM, February Walsh, J. F. (1994) Development and validation of the date and acquaintance rape scales. Dissertation Abstracts International, 55(07), 1837 (University Microfilms No. AAD ) Walsh, J. F., DeVellis, B. M. and DeVellis, R. F. (1997) Date and acquaintance rape: development and validation of a set of scales. Violence Against Women, 3, Wyatt, G. E., Guthrie, G. and Notgrass, C. M. (1992) Differential effects of women's child sexual abuse and subsequent sexual revictimization. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60,