The Effects of Sports Media Exposure on College Students' Rape Myth Beliefs and Intentions to Intervene in a Sexual Assault |
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| Authors: | Stacey J T Hust Ming Lei Chunbo Ren Hua Chang Anna L McNab Emily G Marett |
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| Institution: | 1. Edward R. Murrow College of Communication , Washington State University sjhust@wsu.edu;3. Department of Communication , Cameron University;4. Department of Journalism , Central Michigan University;5. Department of Marketing , Drexel University;6. Department of Commerce , Niagara University;7. Department of Management and Information Systems , Mississippi State University |
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| Abstract: | An online survey was fielded to freshmen living in residence halls at a northwestern university in the United States. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the structure of relationships among exposure to mainstream sports media, rape myth acceptance, and intentions to intervene in sexual assault situations while controlling for gender traits. Given that prior research suggests men and women differ in their beliefs about sexual assault, analyses were performed on male (n = 111) and female (n = 241) respondents separately. Among women, exposure to sports media was positively associated with rape myth acceptance, which in turn was negatively associated with intentions to intervene in sexual assault situations. Among men, consuming sports media was negatively associated with intentions to intervene in a sexual assault. The findings suggest that exposure to some sports media may be negatively associated to individuals' intentions to intervene in a sexual assault. |
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