Do College Women Facilitate the Sexual Assault of Their Same-Gender Peers?

National studies indicate that approximately 25 percent of women have been sexually assaulted by the time they finish college. Although male peers are often the perpetrators, women also engage in behaviors with their female peers that may increase the risk of sexualassault. In the present study, we sought to determine how often college women engaged in these behaviors (i.e. “female facilitation”). Participants were 373 female students (sophomorethrough senior; Greek and independent) who completed an online survey containing measures of sexual assault, alcohol consumption, and female facilitation. The female facilitation measure indexed both “facilitator” behaviors (those directed toward others thatlikely increase the risk of sexual assault victimization) and “facilitatee” behaviors (those that may increase risk of sexual assault victimization), and the two sets of items werecounterbalanced across participants. Descriptive statistics showed an overall prevalence rate for any type of sexual assault was 44.2%. Scores on the facilitator and facilitatee versions ofthe female facilitation measure were highly correlated. Facilitation was highly correlated with alcohol consumption, and being a faciltatee was moderately correlated with sexual assault. Results were consistent with some of our expectations regarding the relationships among facilitation, alcohol consumption, sexual assault, and demographic variables. Limitations of the methods and the implications of the findings for understanding campussexual assault will be discussed.

Attitudes and Social Factors as Predictors of Male Perpetration of Sexual Assault

Previous research has demonstrated a significant association between sexual assault perpetration and hooking up, male peer support for woman abuse, alcohol consumption, and rape myth acceptance (Burt, 1980; Flack, Daubman, Caron, Asadorian, D’Aureli, Gigliotti & Stine, 2007; Schwartz & DeKeseredy, 1997). In the present study, we tested these relationships on the collegiate level by asking male students to indicate levels of male peer support for woman abuse (MPS), acceptance of rape myths (RMA), alcohol consumption, and history of hooking up and sexual assault perpetration during their undergraduate experience. Participants in this study were 200 male Bucknell students (sophomores - seniors) who completed an online survey concerning these issues. The overall prevalence rate for some type of sexual assault perpetration was 10.5%. Specific prevalence rates for non-invasive contact, completed rape, and attempted rape were 5.5%, 2.0%, and 5.0%, respectively. Sexual assault perpetration was positively correlated with MPS and alcohol consumption but not with RMA. Sexual assault was perpetrated most frequently during acquaintance hook ups. These findings demonstrate direct, significant relationships between sexual assault perpetration, alcohol abuse, different types of hooking up, and rape-supportive attitudes, and an association between perpetration and MPS that requires further elaboration.

Hooking Up, Alcohol Consumption, and Sexual Assault: Differentially Risky Behaviors

Previous research has demonstrated a significant association between sexual assault and alcohol consumption and between unwanted sexual experiences and hooking up (Flack, Daubman, et. al., 2007). In the present study, we tested these relationships more directly by asking sexual assault victims to indicate the primary reason(s) that their assault took place and the type of hook-up, if any, in which they occurred. Participants were 373 female undergraduate students who completed an online survey that included measures of sexual assault, alcohol intoxication, and hooking up. The overall prevalence rate for any type of sexual assault was 44.24% (Koss et al., 2007). Specific prevalence rates for noninvasive contact, rape, and attempted rape were 39.68%, 22.25%, and 22.52%, respectively. Within all types of sexual assault, the most prevalent type of hook-up was with acquaintances, and the most common reason given across all seven types of assault was incapacitation due to intoxication. These findings replicate previous research on assault and alcohol consumption, and demonstrate for the first time direct relationshipsbetween assault victimization and hooking up. The results underscore the need to investigate further the construct of hooking up, especially as a context for sexual assault.

Development of the Heat and Energy Concept Inventory: Preliminary Results on the Prevalence and Persistence of Engineering Students' Misconceptions

BACKGROUND Students frequently hold a number of misconceptions related to temperature, heat and energy. There is not currently a concept inventory with sufficiently high internal reliability to assess these concept areas for research purposes. Consequently, there is little data on the prevalence of these misconceptions amongst undergraduate engineering students. PURPOSE (HYPOTHESIS) This work presents the Heat and Energy Concept Inventory (HECI) to assess prevalent misconceptions related to: (1) Temperature vs. Energy, (2) Temperature vs. Perceptions of Hot and Cold, (3) Factors that affect the Rate vs. Amount of Heat Transfer and (4) Thermal Radiation. The HECI is also used to document the prevalence of misconceptions amongst undergraduate engineering students. DESIGN/METHOD Item analysis, guided by classical test theory, was used to refine individual questions on the HECI. The HECI was used in a one group, pre-test-post-test design to assess the prevalence and persistence of targeted misconceptions amongst a population of undergraduate engineering students at diverse institutions. RESULTS Internal consistency reliability was assessed using Kuder-Richardson Formula 20; values were 0.85 for the entire instrument and ranged from 0.59 to 0.76 for the four subcategories of the HECI. Student performance on the HECI went from 49.2% to 54.5% after instruction. Gains on each of the individual subscales of the HECI, while generally statistically significant, were similarly modest. CONCLUSIONS The HECI provides sufficiently high estimates of internal consistency reliability to be used as a research tool to assess students' understanding of the targeted concepts. Use of the instrument demonstrates that student misconceptions are both prevalent and resistant to change through standard instruction.