Gender Equitable Attitudes, Rape Myth Acceptance, and Perceived Peer Approval of Violence as Correlates of High School Boys’ Intention to Garner Sexual Consent

• Published in: Journal of interpersonal violence 2022-11, Vol.37 (21-22), p.NP19688-NP19705
• Main Authors: Dunn, Hailee K., Orchowski, Lindsay M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Attitude; Attitudes; Boys; Correlation analysis; Gender; Gender equity; Gender roles; High Schools; Humans; Intention; Male; Males; Mythology; Peer Acceptance; Peers; Rape; Rape - prevention & control; Secondary school students; Secondary schools; Sex crimes; Sex Offenses; Sex Role; Sexual Behavior; Sexual consent; Social acceptance; Violence
• ISSN: 0886-2605; 1552-6518
• DOI: 10.1177/08862605211042623

The current study examines correlates of high school boys’ intentions to garner consent in a future sexual encounter (N = 816). Bivariate correlation analyses demonstrated that increased intention to garner sexual consent was negatively correlated with rape myth acceptance and perceived peer acceptance of violence, and positively correlated with gender equitable attitudes. In multivariate linear regression analyses, perceived peer acceptance of violence and gender equitable attitudes remained significant in relation to intentions to garner sexual consent. Specifically, boys who reported a greater likelihood of perceiving their peers as accepting of violence and a lower likelihood of holding gender equitable attitudes also reported a lower likelihood to garner sexual consent. These findings highlight the importance of developing sexual assault prevention programs for high school boys that address the complex relationships between perceived peer norms, harmful gender role expectancies, and risk for sexual aggression. Results from this study also add to the existing literature on sexual consent communication in adolescents.