Relationships among Acknowledgment Status, Self-Blame, and Rape Scripts in Female Victims of Unwanted Sexual Experiences

Abstract

The current study investigated whether endorsement of a blitz rape script was predictive of the three types of self-blame (i.e., characterological, behavioral, and overall), above and beyond acknowledgment status, in female victims of unwanted sexual experiences. Further, it investigated the differences between the two acknowledgment groups on three types of self-blame. Participants were 170 female undergraduate college students who completed an anonymous questionnaire that assessed unwanted sexual experiences and perceptions of those experiences. Results revealed that blitz rape script endorsement was not related to self-blame in victims of unwanted sexual experiences. Acknowledged victims had higher levels of all three types of self-blame compared to unacknowledged victims. The present study further demonstrates the complexity of self-blame and adds to the research that has investigated the relationship between self-blame and acknowledgment status.