Relationships among Self-Blame, Acknowledgement Status, Perpetrator Gender, and Drug and Alcohol Use in Male Victims of Unwanted Sexual Experiences

Abstract

The current study investigated the relationships among acknowledgement status, three types of self-blame (i.e., characterological, behavioral, overall), alcohol or drug consumption around the time of the experience, and perpetrator gender in men who were victims of rape or an unwanted sexual experience. Participants were 39 male undergraduate college students. Results indicated that behavioral self-blame is more prevalent than characterological self-blame. It also was found that men blamed themselves more when they were victimized by another man than when they were victimized by a woman. Alcohol or drug consumption was not found to be related to acknowledgement status or self-blame. Additionally, acknowledgement status did not differ by perpetrator gender, and there was no relationship with any of the types of self-blame. Information obtained by this study significantly adds to the research investigating unwanted sexual experiences in men and demonstrates the importance of continuing research with this population.