Department of Psychology, 5630Morehead State University, Morehead, KY, USA.
Department of Psychology,7284 Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.
Sex Abuse. 2023 Apr;35(3):313-339. doi: 10.1177/10790632221096420. Epub 2022 May 10.
The problem of alcohol-involved sexual assault against women highlights the need to identify how the presence of alcohol interacts with risk factors associated with sexual assault perpetration. One risk factor for sexual assault perpetration is fear of intimacy, the inhibited capacity to exchange vulnerable thoughts and emotions with a valued individual. Men who have perpetrated sexual violence report higher fear of intimacy and alcohol use than those who have not. However, little research has investigated how fear of intimacy may contribute to sexual assault perpetration in the context of alcohol intoxication. This study examined alcohol intoxication, fear of intimacy, proximal power-related emotions, and nonconsensual sex intentions. Non-monogamous, male social drinkers ( = 94) completed measures and were randomly assigned to an alcohol condition (alcohol [BrAC = .10%] versus control). Participants then read a sexual assault analogue scenario depicting sexual assault against a hypothetical woman and reported power-related emotions and nonconsensual sex intentions. Self-reported fear of intimacy differed across types of past perpetration. Results found that for intoxicated men only, fear of intimacy was positively associated with power-related emotions, and power-related emotions were positively associated with nonconsensual sex intentions. These associations were not observed for men in the control condition who did not consume alcohol. Future research should examine intimacy-related interventions for sexual assault prevention programming.
酒精相关的女性性侵犯问题突出表明，需要确定酒精的存在如何与与性侵犯行为相关的风险因素相互作用。性侵犯行为的一个风险因素是对亲密关系的恐惧，即与重要个体交换脆弱思想和情感的抑制能力。实施过性暴力的男性报告说，他们比没有实施过性暴力的男性更害怕亲密关系和饮酒。然而，很少有研究调查在酒精中毒的情况下，对亲密关系的恐惧如何导致性侵犯行为。本研究考察了酒精中毒、对亲密关系的恐惧、与权力相关的近端情绪以及非自愿性行为意图。非一夫一妻制、男性社交饮酒者（n = 94）完成了测量，并被随机分配到酒精条件（酒精[BrAC =.10%]与对照）。然后，参与者阅读了一个性侵犯模拟场景，描述了对一个假设女性的性侵犯，并报告了与权力相关的情绪和非自愿性行为意图。自我报告的对亲密关系的恐惧因过去的不同侵犯类型而有所不同。结果发现，仅对醉酒男性而言，对亲密关系的恐惧与与权力相关的情绪呈正相关，而与权力相关的情绪与非自愿性行为意图呈正相关。在未饮酒的对照组男性中，未观察到这些关联。未来的研究应该检查与亲密关系相关的干预措施，以制定性侵犯预防计划。
