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Types of Victimization Experienced by Men and Women That Influence Rape Empathy
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by Lana K. Briggs, Suzanne L. Osman - Salisbury University
Categories: Adjustment & Coping | Emotion | Psychotherapy
In the current study we predicted that four types of victimization experience (sexual contact; attempted rape; sexual coercion; rape) would increase rape empathy for a victim compared with no such experience. We also predicted that women would report greater empathy than men. Participants were 80 men and 70 women undergraduates. Hypotheses were not fully supported. Results showed that only participants who reported having experienced rape were more empathetic than those who reported no victimization, p = .009, but that women did report more empathy than men, p < .0001. Rape experience may allow one to fully identify with and understand the perspective of a rape victim. Other ways to conceptualize victimization are offered.
Spring 2010 | Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research (Vol. 15, No. 1, p. 30), published by Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology (Chattanooga, TN). Copyright, 2010, Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology. All rights reserved.