Northern Arizona University contributed to a recent study that suggests sexual violence is widespread among college-age athletic men. That was linked to athletes’ attitudes toward woman.
The study is the first to include men who play a sport for recreation, as well as intercollegiate athletes. It asked 379 men to anonymously report sexually coercive behaviors — almost all of which qualified as rape. More than half the athletes admitted to using verbal threats or physical aggression to force a partner into sex, compared to a third of non-athletes.
The survey also asked about attitudes toward women, said lead author Belinda-Rose Young, formerly of the University of South Florida.
“We found that athletes — both recreational and intercollegiate — compared to non-athletes had lower opinions of women,” Young said. “This was measured by how firmly they held onto negative traditional gender role beliefs."
For example, athletes were more likely to believe women should focus on becoming good wives and mothers. They were also more likely to dismiss or redefine rape, for instance, by saying it’s not rape if the woman doesn’t fight back.
“It’s a major public health issue,” said Julie Baldwin of Northern Arizona University, who coauthor on the study. “We need to address this. It’s disconcerting in some ways that these beliefs are still so prevalent.”
The study was limited to mostly heterosexual students at one southeastern university. The original sample size was 1,267 male undergraduates but was narrowed to create comparable groups of athletes and non-athletes. The study was designed to be run at five universities. However, a series of scandals at potential study sites, coupled with the protectiveness of university administrators, limited the researchers’ access.
The study appeared in the journal Violence Against Women in May.