COLLEGE STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARD RAPE: A COMPARISON OF NEW ZEALAND AND THE UNITED STATES.

Abstract

This cross-cultural study used the "Attitudes Toward Rape Victims Survey" (ARVS), designed by Ward (1984), to examine the attitudes of college students in New Zealand and the United States. The instrument (ARVS) is the first of its kind to test for victim blame, and the first to be limited to the assessment of attitudes toward the rape victim specifically. Subjects were 205 students from the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, and 508 students from the University of Arizona, Tucson. The survey responses were analyzed to determine cultural differences in attitudes, according to gender and age. Findings would suggest that the United States students were more sympathetic toward the rape victim, less likely to believe traditional rape myths, and more ready to assign male responsibility for the assault than were New Zealand students. New Zealand women appeared less aware of the implications of sexual assault than both United States men and women, and New Zealand men. New Zealand men demonstrated greater awareness than United States men. Older students in both countries tended to be more conservative in their responses than were the younger students. Although there was a significant cultural difference according to age and gender, scores were consistently low for each sample, indicating a general acceptance of traditional rape myths and a continuing tendency to assign to women the responsibility for sexual assault. Several conclusions were drawn from the data analysis. There is a significant cultural difference in attitudes toward the female victim of rape, between New Zealand and United States college students, according to age and gender. However, both cultures retain a strong belief in traditional rape myths. Responses to the ARVS seem to support the views of current theorists: that attitudes toward rape and incidence of rape are culturally predisposed by factors such as domination and aggression in men, passivity and submission in women, fear of the "feminine," and stereotypic sex roles. It is recommended that more research be undertaken on cross-cultural attitudes toward rape victims.