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      Characterizing Sexual Violence in Intimate Relationships: An Examination of Blame Attributions and Rape Acknowledgment

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          Abstract

          Rape by an intimate partner frequently involves a precedence of sexual consent between victim and perpetrator, often does not include the use of physical force, and may not fit societal definitions of rape. Given these unique characteristics, women who are assaulted by an intimate partner may be less likely to acknowledge the experience as a rape. In turn, they might make fewer blame attributions toward themselves and their perpetrators than victims of rape by a non-intimate partner. Consistent with these expectations, results from 208 community women reporting rape in adulthood revealed the presence of indirect effects of perpetrator type (non-intimate partner vs. intimate partner) on both behavioral self-blame and perpetrator blame through rape acknowledgment, even when controlling for both victim substance use at the time of the assault and coercion severity. Compared with women who experienced a rape by a non-intimate partner, women who experienced rape in the context of a marital or dating relationship were less likely to blame themselves or the perpetrator for the assault, in part because they were less likely to label their experience as a rape. Overall, these findings highlight the unique nature of intimate partner rape and provide further information about the relatively under-researched area of sexual violence in intimate relationships.

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          Author and article information

          Contributors
          Journal
          8700910
          28254
          J Interpers Violence
          J Interpers Violence
          Journal of interpersonal violence
          0886-2605
          1552-6518
          27 September 2018
          01 August 2017
          01 February 2019
          : 886260517726972
          Affiliations
          Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
          Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
          Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
          Department of Psychology, Miami University
          Department of Psychology, University of Toledo
          Author notes
          Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to David DiLillo, Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588. ddilillo@ 123456unl.edu
          Article
          PMC6214786 PMC6214786 6214786 nihpa988628
          10.1177/0886260517726972
          6214786
          29294900
          fd2b5f65-e428-4b90-a939-4c824d6fc329
          History
          Categories
          Article

          marital rape,intimate partner sexual assault,victim-offender relationship,sexual coercion,violence

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