Alcohol-involved rapes: Are they more violent?

Alcohol's psychological, cognitive, and motor effects contribute to rape. Based oil theory and past research, we hypothesized that there would be a curvilinear relationship between the quantity of alcohol consumed by perpetrators and how aggressively they behaved. Moderate levels of intoxication encourage aggressiveness however, extreme levels severel, y inhibit co z,nitke and motor capacit.. We also hNpothesizud that Nictims' alcohol consumption wolild have a curvilinear relationship to their resistance. These hypotheses were examined with data from 132 college women who had been the victims of attempted or completed rape, Although there was a curvilinear result for perpetrators, the slope of the curve suggested that aggressiveness was worst when no alcohol or the highest levels of alcohol were consumed. There was a negative linear relationship between victims' alcohol consumption and resistance. Difficulties associated with accurately assessing degree of intoxication from survey data are discussed and suggestions are made For improving alcohol measurement in rape research.