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The Costs of Rape

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Abstract

The current study examined costs experienced by victims of completed rape (n = 49) and attempted sexual assault (n = 91) using quantitative analyses of 13 domains: health, self-esteem, self-perceived attractiveness, self-perceived mate value, family relationships, work life, social life, social reputation, sexual reputation, desire to have sex, frequency of sex, enjoyment of sex, and long-term, committed relationships. Women also provided descriptive accounts of their experiences, and we used these to illustrate the costs in the victims’ own words. Compared to victims of an attempted sexual assault, victims of a completed rape reported significantly more negative outcomes in 11 of the 13 domains. The most negatively affected domains were self-esteem, sexual reputation, frequency of sex, desire to have sex, and self-perceived mate value. Although victims of rape experienced more negative effects than victims of attempted sexual assault, both groups of victims reported negative effects in every domain. Discussion focuses on the implications of the differing degrees and patterns of the costs of attempted and completed sexual victimization.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Laith Al-Shawaf, Jaime Confer, Judy Easton, Cari Goetz, and David Lewis for their feedback on an earlier draft of this article, and our editor and anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions. We would also like to thank all of the undergraduate research assistants who made this project possible.

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Author notes

  1. Carin Perilloux

    Present address: Department of Psychology, Bronfman Science Center, Williams College, 18 Hoxsey Street, Williamstown, MA, 01267, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Carin Perilloux & David M. Buss

  2. Social and Behavioral Sciences, The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Galloway Township, NJ, USA

    Joshua D. Duntley

Authors
  1. Carin Perilloux
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  2. Joshua D. Duntley
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  3. David M. Buss
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Correspondence to Carin Perilloux.

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Perilloux, C., Duntley, J.D. & Buss, D.M. The Costs of Rape. Arch Sex Behav 41, 1099–1106 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-011-9863-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-011-9863-9

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