Psychometric Properties of the Brief Resilience Scale Among Alternative Sexuality Community Members.

Assessing resilience among alternative sexuality (alt-sex; e.g., kink, polyamory) community members is imperative as alt-sex individuals often face discrimination and possess intersecting marginalized identities. The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) has extensive psychometric support; however, prior research indicates both a one- and two-factor (i.e., succumbing and resilience) structure. Further, the psychometric properties of the BRS have not been examined among alt-sex community members. As such, the current study examined the BRS factor structure among alt-sex individuals and measurement invariance across demographic groups (i.e., sexual orientation, gender identity, and sexual assault history). Confirmatory factor analyses and multi-groups invariance analyses were conducted. The two-factor BRS model demonstrated better fit to the data. Model fit did not differ by sexual orientation or gender identity. Measurement invariance was observed by lifetime sexual assault history, with higher factor loadings on succumbing items among alt-sex community members with a lifetime history of sexual assault. Our findings support use of the BRS to measure resilience among alt-sex individuals. Succumbing, or weakened resilience, is a salient factor for alt-sex community members who are sexual assault survivors, warranting further attention.

Disclosing and Reporting of Consent Violations Among Kink Practitioners in the United States.

Kink practitioners are marginalized and experience adverse health and social outcomes, which are exacerbated by consent violations. This study aims to understand experiences of reporting consent violations within a kink context. Kink practitioners (N = 2,888) completed a survey focused on consent violations, reporting, and recommendations, with 767 (25.56%) of them reporting consent violations in the kink context. The type of consent violation (sexual assault or kink-related behaviors), disclosure, and reporting significantly differed based on gender, sexual orientation, and injury status, but not age. Additionally, recommended steps included avoidance of police and others in positions of power and increased accountability.

BDSM, Non-Monogamy, Consent, and Stigma Navigation: Narrative Experiences.

With the rise in popularity of media pieces depicting alternative sexual/relationship preferences, there has been a rise in interest in kink and BDSM (Sprott & Berkey, 2015), which corresponds with research suggesting that approximately 20% of Americans have been in a consensually non-monogamous relationship (Haupert et al., 2016). Despite this growing popularity, these populations are often stigmatized and misunderstood (Bettinger, 2002). The present study examined the self-reported experiences of individuals who have participated in kink, BDSM, non-monogamy, and/or polyamory. Specifically, the study used qualitative methodology to examine narratives of discrimination, harassment, coming out, being outed, consent violations, and/or sexual assault in a BDSM or non-monogamous encounter. Participants consisted of 67 adults who completed an online survey conducted by the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom and were asked to provide narratives of their experience. Data were analyzed using a modified consensual qualitative research methodology (CQR-M; Spangler et al., 2012). Results indicated 11 categories falling into three domains: navigating incidents (consent issues, negotiation of scenes or relationships, identity/beliefs about coming out, and reporting), contributing factors (role of social media/media, exacerbating factors, and beliefs about the community), and response/prevention (outcome of incident, emotions felt, lessons learned from incident by the participant, and what would be helpful from the community). This study contributes to our understanding of the experiences in this community and elucidates strategies that can be used to intervene and advocate for these populations, including education of the general public and deliberate community support.

Sexual Violence and Nonconsensual Experiences Among Alt-Sex Communities' Members.

BACKGROUND: As behaviors, alternative sexual (alt-sex) (i.e., kink, bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism, and masochism , consensual non-monogamy, swinging, leather, and fetish practices) practitioners often emphasize that consent and boundaries are key elements of alt-sex activities. Despite these emphases, individuals experience consent violations and sexual assault both prior to engaging and during their involvement in alt-sex activities. PURPOSE: This study examines alt-sex practitioners' sexual assault and nonconsensual experiences in order to highlight potential means of intervention and prevention, as well as inform clinical and legal professionals. METHODS: In collaboration with the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, this study uses an international survey of adults in alt-sex communities (N = 2996) to examine sexual assault and nonconsensual experiences both within and outside of alt-sex contexts. RESULTS: We found a lower rate of consent violations in the alt-sex community (26%) compared to sexual assault as an adult outside of alt-sex contexts (34%) and sexual assault as a minor (40%). We found significant differences by groups in sexual assault as a minor (gender, sexual orientation, age, and live in the US or not), sexual assault outside of alt-sex contexts (gender, sexual orientation, and age), nonconsensual experiences in alt-sex contexts (gender, sexual orientation, age, and race), receiving nonconsensual touch in alt-sex contexts (gender, sexual orientation, and age), giving nonconsensual touch in alt-sex contexts (sexual orientation, age, living in the US or not, and race), and being falsely accused of nonconsensual touching in alt-sex contexts (gender, age, and living in the US or not). Within the most recent consent violation, the most common behaviors were non-kink related, except for lack of aftercare. Nearly 40% of participants reported the reasons for their most recent consent violation in alt-sex contexts were being selfish or caught up in the moment. IMPLICATIONS: Focused interventions are needed to address how different populations are experiencing assault and violations in alt-sex contexts.