Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Assessing Victim Blame: Intersections Of Rape Victim Race, Gender, And Ethnicity, Kirsten A. Piatak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study sought to assess the impact of the race, gender, and ethnicity of rape victims on college students’ propensity to assign culpability to victims. Using a sample of college students (n=279) from a mid-sized Southeastern university, respondents were given a set of six different vignettes, varying only by victim characteristics. These vignettes featured alcohol-facilitated sexual assault between acquaintances, a common occurrence in college environments. Respondents were asked to evaluate the culpability of the victim through a blameworthiness scale. Through the incorporation of the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, this study also measured the respondents’ propensity to assign blame …