Shades of Gray: A Qualitative Study of Terms Used in the Measurement of Sexual Victimization

Autor/inn/en	Hamby, Sherry L.; Koss, Mary P.
Titel	Shades of Gray: A Qualitative Study of Terms Used in the Measurement of Sexual Victimization
Quelle	In: Psychology of Women Quarterly, 27 (2003) 3, S.243-255 (13 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0361-6843
DOI	10.1111/1471-6402.00104
Schlagwörter	Focus Groups; Sexuality; Peer Influence; Victims of Crime; Sexual Abuse; Language Usage; Stereotypes; Rape; Social Influences; Social Attitudes; Human Body; Definitions; Questionnaires; Racial Differences; Socioeconomic Status; American Indians; African Americans; Females; Christianity; Religion; College Students; Rural Areas + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Sexualität; Victim; Victims; Crime; Opfer; Verbrechen; Sexueller Missbrauch; Sprachgebrauch; Klischee; Sexuelle Gewalt; Vergewaltigung; Sozialer Einfluss; Social attidude; Soziale Einstellung; Menschlicher Körper; Begriffsbestimmung; Fragebogen; Rassenunterschied; Socio-economic status; Sozioökonomischer Status; American Indian; Indianer; Afroamerikaner; Weibliches Geschlecht; Christentum; Collegestudent; Rural area; Ländlicher Raum
Abstract	Methodological analyses of sexual victimization research are still rare, despite the explosion of interest in this topic and widely varying rates across studies. In-depth analysis of the meaning of differences in rates is especially lacking. A series of five ethnically and geographically diverse focus groups were held to explore how wording in sexual victimization surveys affects the reporting of various types of negative sexual experiences. Participants provided rich formulations about sexual intercourse that suggest there is a wide range of coercion, from peer pressure to lose one's virginity to partner pressure to demonstrate one's commitment to stereotypical forced rape. Focus group participants asserted that many terms that are often used synonymously, such as "unwanted," "nonvoluntary," and "forced," have distinct meanings. They also described how different social pressures on women and men, and differences in physical size lead to inevitable differences in perceptions of coerciveness. Although recent sexual victimization surveys have increased the specificity of descriptions of sexual acts, these findings suggest that it is equally important to be precise in communicating what is meant by coercion. (Contains 2 tables.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10