RESUMO
Resumen Los mitos de violación son actitudes y creencias generalmente falsas, amplias y persistentes, acerca de la violación, la víctima y el agresor, que son utilizadas para negar o justificar la agresión sexual hacia las mujeres. En las últimas dos décadas, los instrumentos más utilizados para medir este constructo corresponden a la escala de aceptación de mitos de violación de Illinois (IRMAS), que utiliza expresiones directas y explícitas mediante un lenguaje clásico, y la escala de aceptación de mitos modernos de agresión sexual (AMMSA) que usa un lenguaje sutil, indirecto y moderno. Se realizó un metaanálisis de generalización de la fiabilidad de 69 estudios empíricos que utilizaron alguna de las dos escalas de mitos de violación. El objetivo fue estimar la fiabilidad media de las puntuaciones combinadas de las escalas IRMAS y AMMSA para obtener un valor aproximado de su fiabilidad general y evaluar el posible efecto moderador de algunas variables de interés. El promedio de la fiabilidad por consistencia interna de las puntuaciones de las escalas para las 98 muestras estudiadas fue de .85, IC95 % [.84, .86]. Se observó una alta heterogeneidad (I. = 96 %), y el número de ítems es la única variable moderadora que explica significativamente la variabilidad de la fiabilidad observada. Estos resultados muestran que ambas escalas presentan índices de consistencia interna aceptables en sus diversas aplicaciones. Por lo tanto, las medidas de aceptación de mitos de violación cumplen con los criterios de fiabilidad adecuados para ser utilizadas en investigaciones empíricas en distintos contextos.
Abstract Rape myths are widespread and persistent attitudes, beliefs, and stereotypes, usually false, about rape, the victim, and the perpetrator. Their function is to deny and justify sexual assaults against women, affecting the victim's attributions of responsibility and the perpetrator's attributions of guilt in rape cases. These myths exert a bias in the processing of information, directing attention and perception toward stimuli that justify the victim's responsibility for sexual aggression. These beliefs can be grouped into several types of myths: Myths that hold the victim responsible by arguing that women should be careful and not expose themselves to avoid sexual aggression, myths that justify and reduce the responsibility of the aggressor by stating that the man could not contain his sexual desire and those myths that deny or normalize sexual aggression, which propose that rape occurs only in very specific contexts. In the last two decades, the instruments most commonly used to measure these beliefs are The Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (IRMAS), which uses direct and explicit expressions through classic language, and the Modern Sexual Assault Myth Acceptance Scale (AMMSA), where its expressions are modern, subtle and indirect. Considering the wide use of these instruments, it is justified to provide empirical evidence showing information on the psychometric properties of these scales. One of the procedures for synthesizing empirical results is meta-analyses (MA). This methodology can synthesize studies of specific variables and analyze the psychometric properties of the measurement instruments, providing relevant information on the quality of a given scale. Within this last type of RM are reliability generalizations (RG), those that study the reliability coefficients obtained in different applications of a scale, providing evidence on the properties of the measures used in measuring a construct. A meta-analysis of the RGs of 69 empirical studies that used any of the rape myth scales was performed. The objective was to estimate the mean reliability of the combined scores of the IRMAS and AMMSA scales to obtain an approximate value of their overall reliability and to assess the possible moderating effect of some variables of interest (e.g., research design, culture, sample type, etc.). The mean internal consistency reliability of the scale scores for the 98 samples studied was .85, 95 % C.I. [.84, .86] and the mean coefficient for each of the IRMAS and AMMSA scales was .84 and .85 respectively. All these values are above .80, a value established as satisfactory reliability of the instrument for general research. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients reported by the studies ranged from .71 to .98, with values considered moderate to excellent. These results show that both scales present acceptable internal consistency indices in various applications. There is high heterogeneity (I. = 96 %), with the number of items being the only moderating variable significantly explaining the observed reliability variability. This result was to be expected, given that the effect of test length on the estimation of reliability indices has a long tradition and is widely known in the psychometric literature.
RESUMO
Resumen En investigación social existe una importante línea de estudios que intentan comprender el fenómeno de la violencia sexual. Un constructo que ha centrado el interés de no pocos investigadores corresponde al de "mitos de violación". Este concepto agrupa creencias erróneas respecto a la atribución de culpabilidad del agresor y la responsabilidad de la víctima en caso de violación sexual. El objetivo del presente artículo fue realizar una revisión sistemática de los estudios empíricos que reportan evidencia acerca de la relación entre la aceptación de mitos de violación y variables psicosociales. Las bases de datos consultadas fueron, ProQuest, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO, EBSCOhost y JSTOR. Se seleccionaron estudios empíricos en español e inglés publicados entre los años 2009 y 2019. Se encontraron 96 artículos que cumplían con los criterios de selección. Dentro de los resultados el 63,4 % de las investigaciones se desarrollaron en Estados Unidos, 24,7 % en países de Europa y solo 1 % en América Latina. Los hallazgos muestran que los hombres son los que mantienen mayores niveles de aceptación de los mitos de violación en la mayoría de los estudios. Además, se encontraron relaciones con variables como violencia interpersonal y violencia sexual, rasgos de personalidad, variables ideológicas, psicosociales, sexuales y de género. Finalmente se discute sus implicancias y limitaciones.
Abstract In social research, there is an important line of studies that try to understand the phenomenon of sexual violence. A construct that has focused the interest of not a few researchers corresponds to that of "rape myths". This concept brings together a set of erroneous beliefs regarding the attribution of guilt of the aggressor and the responsibility of the victim in case of rape. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of empirical studies that have reported evidence about the relationship between the acceptance of rape myths and psychosocial variables. The databases consulted were, ProQuest, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO, EBSCOhost, JSTOR. We selected empirical studies in Spanish and English that have been published between 2009 and 2019. We found 96 articles that met the selection criteria. Within the results, 63.4% of the studies have been developed in the United States, 24.7% in European countries and only one in Latin America (1.0%). The findings show that men maintain the highest levels of acceptance of rape myths in most studies. In addition, relationships have been found with variables such as interpersonal violence and sexual violence, personality traits, ideological, psychosocial, sexual and gender variables. Finally, its implications and limitations are discussed.
Resumo Na pesquisa social, há uma importante linha de estudos que tentam entender o fenômeno da violência sexual. Uma construção que tem focado o interesse de poucos pesquisadores corresponde à de "mitos do estupro". Esse conceito reúne um conjunto de crenças errôneas sobre a atribuição de culpa do agressor e a responsabilidade da vítima em caso de estupro. O objetivo deste estudo foi realizar uma revisão sistemática de estudos empíricos que relataram evidências sobre a relação entre a aceitação de mitos de estupro e variáveis psicossociais. As bases de dados consultadas foram: ProQuest, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO, EBSCOhost, JSTOR. Selecionamos estudos empíricos em espanhol e inglês que foram publicados entre 2009 e 2019. Encontramos 96 artigos que atenderam aos critérios de seleção. Dentro dos resultados, 63,4% dos estudos foram desenvolvidos nos Estados Unidos, 24,7% em países europeus e apenas um na América Latina (1,0%). Os achados mostram que os homens mantêm os mais altos níveis de aceitação dos mitos do estupro na maioria dos estudos. Além disso, têm sido encontradas relações com variáveis como violência interpessoal e violência sexual, traços de personalidade, variáveis ideológicas, psicossociais, sexuais e de gênero. Finalmente, suas implicações e limitações são discutidas.