Effectiveness of Sexual Assault Protective Behaviors on the Daily Level: The Roles of Intoxication and Executive Control

Abstract

Young adult women engage in a variety of behaviors aimed at reducing their risk of sexual assault (SA), termed sexual assault protective behavioral strategies (SA-PBS), yet the evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of SA-PBS in reducing SA risk has been relatively sparse and inconclusive. The current study examined the use of SA-PBS, the factor structure of a diverse array of SA-PBS, and their association with the occurrence of SA. The influence of state- and trait-level moderators on the association between SA-PBS and SA events was also examined. In a sample of community young adult women (N = 174), use of SA-PBS and the occurrence of same night SA were examined with a longitudinal burst design over 1 year that spanned 27 weekend nights when women were out in social contexts. We also examined the influence of state intoxication of alcohol use and trait effortful control (EC) on the relationship between SA-PBS factors and SA events. We found that SA-PBS cluster into two factors representing Proactive and Reactive SA-PBS. While Proactive PBS was not associated with SA, Reactive PBS were positively associated with a SA event occurring. There was no evidence in the current sample to support a moderating role of intoxication on the relationship between Proactive or Reactive PBS and SA. However, there was a marginal interaction effect found for the moderating role of EC on the relationship between Proactive PBS and SA. Our findings identify important differences in SA-PBS, and perhaps most importantly, suggest that not all strategies are created equal with respect to reducing risk.