Assessing College Women's Perception of Putative Risk for Being Sexually Victimized by a Man: Development of the Sexual Assault Script Scale (SASS)

摘要

Sexual assault is highly prevalent and a significant public health problem. The responsibility for sexual assault lies solely with the perpetrator, yet interventions to change perpetrators' behavior are scarce, making research focused on identifying factors that increase risk for sexual victimization a necessary complement to work on sexual aggression. The present study used mixed-method methodology to develop a measure of sexual assault risk called the Sexual Assault Script Scale (SASS). In three separate studies, we surveyed 1031 U.S. undergraduate heterosexual or bisexual women on the extent to which they believed certain contextual and interpersonal features were likely to be present during an assault. Factor analytic models replicated across studies ultimately yielded a 27-item measure with four internally consistent subscales: Stereotypical Assault Scripts, Acquaintance Assault Scripts, Assault Resistance Scripts, and Date/Friend Assault Scripts. Structural regressions revealed significant associations of the subscales with measures of prior sexual victimization, alcohol risk, number of sexual partners, and sociosexuality, providing support for the criterion validity of the measure. The SASS may prove to be a cost effective, easy-to-administer tool for assessing women's scripts and identifying those women who may be at increased risk for victimization, thus providing opportunities for targeted prevention.