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Athletic Participation, Fraternity Membership, and Sexual Aggression Among College Men: A Meta-analytic Review

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Abstract

A meta-analysis of the data relating either college athletic participation or fraternity membership to attitudes and behaviors associated with sexual aggression was conducted with 29 studies which yielded 57 effect sizes. Membership in each male group was associated to a moderate extent with rape-supportive attitudes, and to a smaller extent with self-report of sexually aggressive behavior. There was much variability in the data that could be partially predicted by variables such as the size of the college, the validity of the study, and the age of the research participants. The involvement of these all-male groups in the perpetuation of hypermasculine attitudes (Mosher and Sirkin 1984) in a patriarchal culture was discussed.

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Acknowledgement

We thank Linda Smolak and Ric Sheffield for sharing their interpretations of the data with us. We also thank LaShaunda Craft for her help in coding some of the data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Kenyon College, Associate Provost’s Office, Edelstein House, Gambier, OH, 43022, USA

    Sarah K. Murnen

  2. Department of Sociology, Kenyon College, Gambier, USA

    Marla H. Kohlman

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  1. Sarah K. Murnen
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  2. Marla H. Kohlman
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Correspondence to Sarah K. Murnen.

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*Indicates that data from the study were used in the meta-analysis.

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Murnen, S.K., Kohlman, M.H. Athletic Participation, Fraternity Membership, and Sexual Aggression Among College Men: A Meta-analytic Review. Sex Roles 57, 145–157 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9225-1

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