ABSTRACT
Objective: This study examined if empathy was a significant moderator of several empirically established risk factors for sexual violence perpetration among college men. Participants: Data are from 544 college men who participated in a longitudinal study from 2008 to 2011 at a large, public university. Methods: Participants completed a self-report survey in their first through fourth years in college. A series of generalized linear models were conducted using sexual violence risk factors and empathy during the sophomore year as predictors of sexual violence perpetration frequency during junior year. Results: Empathy was found to be a significant moderator of six out of the 10 sexual violence risk factors tested, such that high levels of empathy were associated with lower sexual violence perpetration rates among high-risk males. Conclusion: Additional research, including the measurement and evaluation of empathy in implementation of college sexual violence prevention and intervention efforts, should be undertaken.
Subject(s)
Aggression/psychology , Empathy , Sex Offenses/psychology , Students/psychology , Adolescent , Adult , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Risk Factors , Self Report , Sex Offenses/statistics & numerical data , Sexual Behavior/psychology , Surveys and Questionnaires , Universities , Young AdultABSTRACT
The present study examined factors that differentiate adolescents with varied intentions of informal and professional help-seeking for dating violence. Help-seeking intentions among 518 ethnically diverse adolescents from a rural, southern county who participated in a longitudinal study of teen dating violence were categorized into three groups: adolescents unlikely to seek any help, adolescents likely to seek only informal help, and adolescents likely to seek informal and professional help. Multinomial logistic regression found that gender, family functioning, problem-solving competency, dating status, having an adult to talk to about a dating relationship, and acceptability of family violence significantly predicted membership in the help-seeking groups. Implications for promoting informal and professional help-seeking and recommendations for future research are discussed.
