Abstract

Sexual aggression is a pervasive issue on college campuses, and many risk factors have been studied in an attempt to understand and reduce perpetration. In the current study, I focus on men's history of child abuse, romantic rejection, and sources of self-worth as potential predictors of sexual aggression perpetration. As part of an ongoing online cross-sectional study (target N = 600), data were analyzed for 72 college men. Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations were used to characterize the current sample describe patterns of relationships between study variables. Results indicate that all forms of child abuse were significantly positively associated with each other, but only child neglect was associated with romantic rejection experiences in adulthood. Child abuse was also negatively correlated with family, virtue, and competition of sources of self-worth. Although too few participants reported sexual aggression perpetration to conduct inferential statistical tests in the current sample, patterns of means indicate that child abuse was higher among men who reported perpetration.

Thesis Completion

2021

Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair/Advisor

Woerner, Jacqueline

Co-Chair

Backes, Bethany

Degree

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Psychology

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

1 year

Release Date

3-1-2022

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Included in

Psychology Commons

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