The Influence of Aggressiveness on Rape-Myth Acceptance among University Students

The detrimental effects of rape are well established. In order to support victims of rape in reporting sexual assault, the factors which predict rape myths need to be investigated. Aggression has been linked to sexual violence, but little is known about the role of aggressive behaviour in rape-myth acceptance. The present study aimed to investigate whether rape myths could be predicted by verbal aggression, physical aggression, hostility, anger or sex in a sample of 121 participants. A regression analysis found that an individual's sex and self-reported physical aggression significantly predicted rape-myth acceptance.