TY - JOUR
T1 - Acute Alcohol Intoxication, State Anger, and Sexual Assault Perpetration
T2 - The Role of State Emotion Regulation
AU - Neilson, Elizabeth C.
AU - Smith, Lauren
AU - Davis, Kelly Cue
AU - George, William H.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this study was provided by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (F31AA024352; PI: E. C. Neilson) and the Association for Treatment of Sexual Abusers. The first author is supported by funding provided by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (8P20GM103436).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Psychological Association
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Objective: Alcohol-involved sexual assault remains a pervasive problem, with extensive individual- and societal-level costs. Emotion regulation (ER), the process through which an individual modulates emotional states, remains an understudied predictor of sexual assault perpetration, with the past research focusing on general ER tendencies (e.g., trait ER) as predictors of sexual assault perpetration. This study sought to examine the associations between state ER on sexual assault perpetration in the context of state anger and acute alcohol intoxication. Method: Single, male social drinkers aged 21–30 with a history of sexual risktaking (N = 92) participated in an alcohol administration paradigm and were randomly assigned to an alcohol condition [sober control vs. intoxicated (BrAC = .10%)]. Intoxicated and sober participants completed a sexual assault analogue that assessed state anger, state ER, and sexual assault perpetration intentions against a hypothetical female partner. Results: Path analysis demonstrated interactive effects of state ER and state anger on sexual assault perpetration intentions. Relative to men with low and moderate levels of anger, state ER was associated with lower intentions to perpetrate sexual assault for men with high levels of anger. Alcohol intoxication did not directly predict state ER, state anger, or sexual assault perpetration intentions. Conclusions: The results suggested that state ER may be protective against sexual assault perpetration for men who experience anger in response to a partner’s expression of nonconsent. Because replication is necessary, the results carry tentative implications for state ER as an intervention target for sexual assault prevention programming.
AB - Objective: Alcohol-involved sexual assault remains a pervasive problem, with extensive individual- and societal-level costs. Emotion regulation (ER), the process through which an individual modulates emotional states, remains an understudied predictor of sexual assault perpetration, with the past research focusing on general ER tendencies (e.g., trait ER) as predictors of sexual assault perpetration. This study sought to examine the associations between state ER on sexual assault perpetration in the context of state anger and acute alcohol intoxication. Method: Single, male social drinkers aged 21–30 with a history of sexual risktaking (N = 92) participated in an alcohol administration paradigm and were randomly assigned to an alcohol condition [sober control vs. intoxicated (BrAC = .10%)]. Intoxicated and sober participants completed a sexual assault analogue that assessed state anger, state ER, and sexual assault perpetration intentions against a hypothetical female partner. Results: Path analysis demonstrated interactive effects of state ER and state anger on sexual assault perpetration intentions. Relative to men with low and moderate levels of anger, state ER was associated with lower intentions to perpetrate sexual assault for men with high levels of anger. Alcohol intoxication did not directly predict state ER, state anger, or sexual assault perpetration intentions. Conclusions: The results suggested that state ER may be protective against sexual assault perpetration for men who experience anger in response to a partner’s expression of nonconsent. Because replication is necessary, the results carry tentative implications for state ER as an intervention target for sexual assault prevention programming.
KW - Alcohol administration
KW - Emotion regulation
KW - Sexual assault perpetration
KW - State anger
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U2 - 10.1037/vio0000381
DO - 10.1037/vio0000381
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85123470941
SN - 2152-0828
VL - 12
SP - 42
EP - 51
JO - Psychology of Violence
JF - Psychology of Violence
IS - 1
ER -