Abstract
The study of sexual violence perpetration has focused largely on dispositional factors, resulting in the development of the robust Confluence Model (Malamuth et al. 1991) of factors that influence the individual proclivity to engage in sexual aggression. Additional research on individual perpetration has illuminated that within the population of sexually violent men, there are multiple patterns of behavior including those who never perpetrate, those who desist, and those who persist over time (Swartout et al. 2015a). In expanding the focus beyond individual perpetrators, the study of social networks reveals that sexually aggressive peers may influence the likelihood of engaging in violent behavior. The Socio-ecological Model (Dahlberg and Krug 2002) describes four levels of influences on violent behavior (i.e., individual, relationship, community, and societal influences); however, it provides little guidance for predicting behavior. We propose the addition of a new situational level within the model to enhance the ability to intervene and prevent sexual assault. Examples of factors in the immediate environment that are likely to influence sexually aggressive behavior are provided. Current prevention programs targeted at college men have not reliably reduced sexual violence. We propose future directions for intervention, community response, and research.
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Dean, K.E., Swartout, K. (2021). Sexual Assault Perpetration. In: Geffner, R., White, J.W., Hamberger, L.K., Rosenbaum, A., Vaughan-Eden, V., Vieth, V.I. (eds) Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62122-7_188-3
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