Women's responses to unwanted sexual advances: The role of alcohol and inhibition conflict

Kelly Cue Davis, William H. George, Jeanette Norris

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

60 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study we investigated how alcohol consumption affects women's responses to unwanted sexual advances in a hypothetical dating situation. Sixty female social drinkers participated in a 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment, which examined the effects of moderate alcohol intoxication and relationship characteristics on behavioral responses to unwanted sexual advances. Hypotheses were tested regarding the influence of inhibition conflict on intoxicated participants. As predicted, intoxicated women were more likely than sober women to consent to their dating partner's sexual advances in high conflict situations. Additionally, alcohol consumption increased women's estimated likelihood of responding passively. These findings aid in explicating the relationship between alcohol consumption and women's increased vulnerability to sexual assault.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)333-343
Number of pages11
JournalPsychology of Women Quarterly
Volume28
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2004
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Gender Studies
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • General Psychology

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