Antonia Abbey - US grants

Little is known about which psychological and social factors affect decisions about when to purchase and consume alcohol. The purpose of the research described in this proposal is to determine some of the subjective and social factors which influence these choices. The alcohol availability literature suggests that physical and economic conditions which make alcohol more difficult to obtain (e.g., restricted hours of sale) reduce alcohol consumption (Beauchamp, 1981; Smart, 1977b). Smart (1977a) argues that the availability construct should be expanded to include subjective and social components. Subjective availability concerns individuals' perceptions of how accessible alcohol is to them. Social availability concerns how accessible alcohol is within one's social network. It is hypothesized that people who perceive alcohol to be easily available will buy more alcohol and drink more than those who do not. Individuals who feel that alcohol outlets are conveniently located, who do not mind going out of their way to buy alcohol, who feel no discomfort about entering liquor stores or bars, who stock up on alcohol so it is easily available at home, and who feel that alcohol is reasonably priced are hypothesized to experience high levels of subjective availability and consequently to buy and consume more alcohol than individuals who do not perceive alcohol to be easily available. Individuals who have friends, family, and coworkers who approve of drinking alcohol, who make alcohol available at parties, and who encourage drinking by virtue of their own behavior are hypothesized to experience high levels of social availability and consequently to buy and consume more alcohol than individuals who do not perceive alcohol to be easily available. It is also hypothesized that subjective availability will moderate the effects of physical availability (distance from an outlet) on consumption. These hypotheses will be examined in a survey of 780 Michigan residents from eight counties. Counties were selected to vary in alcohol outlet density (high, medium, low). Thirty minute telephone interviews will be conducted. Multiple indicators of most concepts will be included. Multiple regression and structural modeling techniques will be used to test the hypothesized relationships between physical, subjective, and social availability, and consumption. Alcohol abuse is a serious national health problem. This study's results could lead to the design of alcohol prevention programs specifically targeted at high risk individuals.

Many researchers have documented that alcohol consumption and sexual assault co-occur, but detailed information is not available regarding the causal dynamics of this relationship. The goal of the proposed research is to reduce the incidence of sexual assault by explicating the relationship between alcohol consumption, misperception on sexual cues, and sexual assault. Computer-assisted self-interviews will be conducted with a representative sample of 800 African American and Caucasian women and women in the Detroit Metropolitan area who meet the study's criteria. By asking comparable questions of victims and perpetrators of sexual assault, gender differences in perceptions of alcohol's role in sexual assault can be examined. Based on their responses to the Sexual Experiences Survey, participants will be asked to describe the circumstances associated with either: a) an alcohol-involved and a no-alcohol involved sexual assault, b) a sexual assault and a similar social occasion which did not involve sexual assault, or c) a recent date. Specific hypothesis will be examined regarding similarities and differences between: a) alcohol and no-alcohol sexual assaults, b) sexual assaults and similar social occasions, c) women;s and men's perceptions of sexual assault, and d) African Americans' and Caucasians' sexual assault experiences. Measures of past misperception and dating experiences, rape supportive beliefs, social skills, alcohol expectancies, stereotypes about drinking women, usual alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related problems will be included. These variables will be used in structural equation modeling analyses to examine the model of alcohol's role in sexual assault developed by Abbey and her colleagues. Prospective data will also be collected from these same individuals two years later so that the model can also be treated longitudinally. The results of the proposed research will have direct implications for alcohol and sexual assault prevention and treatment services.

(Revised) DESCRIPTION (adapted from the applicant's abstract): HIV/AIDS rates remain high in young adults. Although college students are aware of how HIV/AIDS is transmitted, many continue to engage in risky behaviors. Three studies are proposed to examine the role of alcohol in college students' decisions about engaging in risky behavior. Laboratory studies are proposed so that participants can be randomly assigned to their beverage condition. Prior to the laboratory session, participants complete a survey that includes measures of their own behavior and attitudes and experiences related to likelihood of engaging in risky behavior when intoxicated (e.g., usual alcohol consumption, expectancies, and attitudes). Each laboratory study includes three independent variables: 1) gender of the participant, 2) participants' drink condition (Intoxicated, Placebo, Sober), and 3) degree of risk associated with various behaviors. By including a placebo cell, expectancy and pharmacological effects of alcohol can be compared. Measures of cognitive impairment and anxiety will be included to examine the processes hypothesized to mediate the relationship between intoxication and willingness to engage in risky behavior. Degree of risk in the situation is operationalized differently in each of the three studies. Each of the studies also uses different stimulus materials to enhance the generalizability of the findings. Hypotheses will be tested about gender differences in the types of situations that present the most conflict about risky behavior. These studies' findings can be used to develop prevention programs tailored to address factors that encourage young women and men to engage in risky behaviors.

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of the proposed research is to reduce the incidence of sexual assault by explicating the relationship between alcohol consumption and sexual assault perpetration in a two wave community survey of 500 young adult men using audio computer-assisted self-interviews (ACASI). Approximately half of all sexual assaults involve alcohol consumption by the perpetrator, victim, or both. Most research with perpetrators of sexual assault has focused on either incarcerated offenders or male college students who acknowledge in confidential surveys that they have used some type of verbal or physical force or the woman's intoxication to obtain sex from a woman against her will. This study will address an important gap in our understanding by examining the prevelance and etiology of sexual assault in a representative comunity sample of young, single men. Elements of several promising theoretical models have been combined in order to maximize prediction of sexual assault perpetration cross-sectionally and prospectively. Based on past theoretical and empirical research, the role of alcohol will be examined at three levels: 1) as a predictor of past sexual assault perpetration within a model that includes a number of personality, attitudinal, and experience variables that have previously been linked to sexual assault perpetration, 2) as a predictor of future sexual assault perpetration within a model in which responses at the initial interview are used to predict sexual assault perpetration during the one year follow-up interval, and 3) at the situation-specific level, the characteristics of alcohol-involved sexual assaults will be compared to sexual assaults that do not involve alcohol. A random digit dialing sample of Metropolitan Detroit households will be obtained by the Survey Research Center of the University of Michigan. Eligible individuals will be asked to participate in an in- person interview on dating experiences. Based on past research by the principal investigator and other researchers, sexual assault perpetration since the age of 14 will be assessed through behaviorally-specific questions that describe types of forced sex (e.g., use of verbal threats, held her down) without labeling the acts as criminal behavior. A follow up interview will be conducted one year later. . Violence against women is an important public health problem. This study will provide information about young men's personality characteristics, attitudes, alcohol use, and past experiences that are linked to their willingness to use some type of force to obtain sex from women. This knowledge can be used to develop prevention and treatment programs, thereby reducing the future occurrence of sexual assault. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Approximately half of all sexual assaults involve alcohol consumption by the perpetrator, victim, or both. The goal of the proposed research is to develop a virtual reality simulation that can be used as a proxy for perpetration of sexual aggression in alcohol administration studies. Self-report surveys conducted with victims and perpetrators have provided a wealth of important information about alcohol's role in sexual assault; however, causality cannot be established from correlational designs. In alcohol administration studies, participants can be randomly assigned to drink conditions, thereby allowing causal conclusions to be made. The major challenge for experimentalists is to develop proxies for sexual assault that have strong construct validity and experimental realism. Virtual reality environments provide the opportunity for participants to become immersed in the simulated environment; thus, participants are expected to behave in ways and to make choices that closely relate to their behavior outside the laboratory. The Specific Aims of the proposed research involve developing a virtual reality simulation with a virtual woman (an embodied female agent) that male participants rate as realistic and involving. The script of the interaction will follow that of a prototypic acquaintance sexual assault situation, allowing male participants to make choices about sexual activities in which they want to engage and (if they choose) to repeatedly try to make the female agent engage in sexual activity despite her protests. Most participants will be young, single, sexually active, heterosexual men to correspond to the demographics of most perpetrators. Focus groups and an iterative series of pilots that include cognitive interviews will be conducted with men and women to develop the simulation. Then a preliminary assessment of construct validity will be conducted by comparing self-reports of past sexual aggression, common risk factors, and responses to another proxy with participants' responses during the simulation. Also, an initial evaluation of the simulation's usefulness in alcohol administration research will be conducted by comparing the responses and actions of intoxicated and sober participants during the simulation. The findings from this study will serve as pilot data for a R01 proposal that will formally evaluate the paradigm's construct validity and usefulness in identifying men predisposed to commit sexual assault while intoxicated. Future studies can also alter various aspects of the simulation to increase generalizability to different populations. The long-term goal is to develop prevention and treatment interventions, thereby reducing rates of sexual aggression and addressing Healthy People 2020 goals. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Sexual assault occurs at extremely high rates and more than half involve alcohol consumption. The goal of the proposed research is to develop a virtual reality simulation of a potential sexual assault situation that can be used in experimental research. This will allow the effects of alcohol consumption on sexual aggression to be examined under controlled conditions, thereby increasing confidence that differences found between drinkers and nondrinkers are due to alcohol, not other factors.