ATTACHMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF BLAME IN DATE RAPE SCENARIOS

In a questionnaire survey, 2060 students entering university rated various written scenarios involving “date rape.” Each rater rated the behavior of both the aggressor and the victim for how “excusable” his/her behavior was, on a 7-point scale. Half of the students in the sample received a version of the questionnaire in which the aggressor and victim were in a long-term dating relationship; the other raters received a version in which the aggressor and victim were casual friends. Males rated the behavior of the aggressor as more excusable and the behavior of the victim as less excusable in the scenario in which the couple were dating steadily than in the scenario in which they were friends. These results are discussed in light of attachment theory.