Sexual Violence: Longitudinal, Multigenerational Evidence from the National Youth Survey

• NCJ Number: 223284
• Author(s): Jennifer Grotpeter; Scott Menard; Danielle Gianola; Maura O'Neal
• Date Published: May 2008
• Length: 86 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2003-WG-BX-1001
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Award: Sexual Violence: Longitudinal, Multigenerational Evidence

Annotation

The purpose of this study was to examine data from the National Youth Survey Family Study (NYSFS) in order to assess the prevalence of sexual assault in a nationally representative sample and to examine the patterns of behavior among the NYSFS original respondents who were sexual assaulters in adolescence and young adulthood with the behaviors of their children at the same age.

Abstract

Results of the study contribute to the understanding of sexual violence by providing longitudinal and intergenerational information on sexual assaulters aged 11 to 43 who were part of a nonclinical, nationally representative sample. It was found that being male, being of a lower socioeconomic group, prior engagement in sexual assault and other offenses, problem alcohol use, attitudes, tolerant of deviance, exposure to delinquent peers, social isolation from the peer group, and labeling as sick and nonconforming were all related to engagement in sexual assault. Items assessing misogynistic attitudes toward sexual assault and the justifiability of interpersonal violence in adolescence were related to engagement in sexual assault adolescence. Exposure to delinquent peers (in addition to prior engagement in sexual assault) was one of the most significant predictors of sexual assault over the life course, but particularly so for males. In the last 25 years, much of Western society, particularly law enforcement agencies and clinicians, have recognized the destructive effects of the sexual assault of women. This study supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice was designed to address the etiology and long-term trajectories of sex offenders with a normal, nonclinical population. Analyses were conducted on the reports of sexual assaulters who were part of a nationally-representative sample that was surveyed longitudinally over 26 years. The goals of the study were to examine the National Youth Survey Family Study (NYSFS) data to assess the prevalence of sexual assault and victimization; to capitalize on the longitudinal, prospective design of the study to examine sexual assault from a life course perspective; and to examine the patterns of behavior among the NYSFS original respondents who were sexual assaulters in adolescence and young adulthood with the behaviors of their children at the same age. Tables and references