Community-Level Factors As Positive and Negative Correlates of Sexual Aggression Perpetration Among Adolescent Boys

ABSTRACT

Often, perpetrators of sexual violence first aggress in their teens. Presently, very little is known about environmental factors that may influence adolescents’ engagement in sexual aggression. Drawing upon data collected at 27 high schools in the Northeast United States, this study is the first to test the association between community-level factors and male adolescents’ sexual aggression. A series of backward linear regressions determined that 10 of 19 community variables were associated with males’ sexual aggression, which were then used to generate a ratio of positive to negative correlates of sexual aggression for each high school. In multilevel analyzes, as hypothesized, the ratio of positive to negative correlates was positively associated with schools’ sexual aggression perpetration rates. We discuss the study’s implications for future sexual assault research and prevention interventions.

KEYWORDS:

• Sexual violence
• adolescents
• community variables
• socioecological model

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1U01CE002651-01, PI: Orchowski).

Notes on contributors

Charlie Huntington

Charlie Huntington, M.A., is a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Denver, Denver, CO. His research interests include romantic relationship functioning, sexual health, and sexual assault prevention.

William DeJong

William DeJong, Ph.D. is the director of research and evaluation for Impairment Science, Inc., and an Adjunct Professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine, Medford, MA. His research focuses on the subjects of substance abuse prevention, health promotion, criminal justice, social psychology, and the use of media to change social norms and behaviors.

Dennis E. Reidy

Dennis E. Reidy, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Behavioral Sciences in the School of Public Health at Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA. He is also the Director for Community Engagement and Outreach for the Center for Research on Interpersonal Violence at Georgia State University. His research focuses on informing, developing, and evaluating innovative interventions to prevent violence and associated delinquency outcomes (e.g., substance use, risky sexual behavior, mental health, etc.) and promote health and well-being.

Lindsay M. Orchowski

Lindsay M. Orchowski, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor (Research) at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, within the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior. She is a Staff Psychologist with Lifespan Physicians Group at Rhode Island Hospital within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. Her research program centers around the development and evaluation of sexual assault prevention programs.