The role of the new "date rape drugs" in attributions about date rape

Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3463-5704

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Interpersonal Violence

Publication Date

1-1-2008

Volume

23

Issue

1

First Page

3

Last Page

20

Keywords

Attributions, Drugs, Rape, Sexual assault

DOI

10.1177/0886260507307648

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of voluntary and involuntary drug use on attributions about sexual assault. The sample was composed of 280 randomly selected male and female undergraduate students. The type of drug used (GHB, alcohol, or none) and the voluntariness of the administration were varied in an unambiguous date rape scenario. Participants viewed sexual assault facilitated by alcohol or drugs similarly to sexual assault without drug or alcohol involvement, assigning the highest levels of responsibility and blame to the perpetrator and the lowest levels of both to the victim in these situations. In contrast, women's voluntary consumption of drugs prior to a sexual assault reduced perpetrator responsibility and blame and increased blame to the victim compared to other situations (except in some cases, voluntary drunkenness). These findings extend the limited research on date rape drugs and previous work on the influence of alcohol on date rape attributions. © 2008 Sage Publications.

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