A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Role of Sexual Objectification in the Relationship Between Alcohol Use and Sexual Assault Perpetration
Abstract
In this study, we examined how sexual objectification can help explicate the relationship between alcohol use and sexual assault perpetration. Specifically, we examined a mediation and a moderation model. Moreover, given that gender roles and sexual norms vary across cultures, we also examined the structural invariance of the models between a U.S. male (n = 404) and Philippines male (n = 100) college sample. Path analyses were used to examine the mediation and the moderation model, and multiple groups analysis was utilized to examine model differences between samples. Sexual objectification fully mediated the relationship between alcohol use severity and sexual aggression. Furthermore, the mediation model was invariant between the U.S. sample and Philippines sample. A significant alcohol use severity by sexual objectification interaction effect was found for both samples. Simple slopes analysis indicated that alcohol use severity was not associated with sexual aggression among those with high sexual objectification scores. Among men with low sexual objectification scores, alcohol use severity was associated with higher likelihood toward sexual assault. For the Filipino sample, the impact of alcohol consumption on sexual aggression is more pronounced compared with the U.S. sample. Sexual objectification is a key variable in understanding the alcohol use—sexual aggression relationship. Country differences in alcohol use, cultural meanings of Filipino masculinity, and sexual norms and behaviors accounts for noninvariance in the moderation model. Implications for sexual assault reduction programs were also discussed.
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Biographies
Antover P. Tuliao, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Community, Family, and Addiction Sciences at Texas Tech University. His research interest lies in the intersection of alcohol and substance use, risky behavior, which includes sexual assault perpetration and victimization, and judgment and decision making.
Bernice Vania N. Landoy, MA, is a PhD student in psychology at the Ateneo De Manila University. She holds a master’s degree in developmental psychology from the same university. Bernice is a faculty member at the University of the Philippines in the Visayas in the province of Iloilo, and her research interests include parenting, adolescent development, and resilience in postdisaster contexts.
Natira D. Mullet, MS, is a doctoral student in the couple, marriage, and family therapy program at Texas Tech University. She received her BS in psychology, MS in couple and family therapy, and graduate certificates in financial therapy and gender, women, and sexuality studies from Kansas State University.
Nico Canoy, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology at the Ateneo de Manila University. His research areas include discursive and material analysis of sexuality, health systems and inequalities, and class-based social constructions.
Alicia K. Klanecky, PhD, received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Since that time, she has been working as an assistant professor in the psychology department at Creighton University. Her professional training emphasized addictions and cooccurring disorders. Her research interests largely focus on vulnerabilities to problem drinking and alcohol use disorders following trauma exposure.
Dennis E. McChargue, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln and the codirector of the Nebraska Internship Consortium in professional psychology. His research aims to understand vulnerability mechanisms that promote dual diagnosis among mental health and substance use/health behaviors.
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Article first published online: April 11, 2019
Issue published: August 2021
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PubMed: 30973042
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