Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Education
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice
Advisor
Tina Jaeckle
Committee Member
Grace Telesco
Committee Member
Maria Levi-Minzi
Keywords
Military sexual assault, attitudes, rape, service members, sociological theories
Abstract
Military sexual assault crimes, including rape, attempted sexual assault, unwanted sexual contact, and sexual harassment, have continued to increase over the last few decades. The issue has become problematic enough for the Department of Defense to allocate a significant amount of money for sexual assault resources. Specifically, the Department of Defense gives millions of dollars each year for the prevention and training of sexual assault, yet the issue continues to persist. There is a lack of understanding of the posture of service members' attitudes toward sexual assault and if certain demographics differ in their attitudes toward rape myths. While sexual assault training aims to educate members on the resources available to them and who to report to, part of the solution is understanding why these incidents continue to occur.
Exploring the Differences in Military Attitudes Toward Rape Myths and Their Relationship to Demographic Factors: This applied dissertation focused on veterans and active-duty service members who have served for at least one year (365 days minimum). The study conducted a survey design. The study was conducted using an electronic survey the researcher created on Qualtrics.
The purpose of this applied research was to analyze the differences in military attitudes toward rape myths and any predictive relationship with demographic variables. The research conducted was quantitative. The research analyzed a social learning framework. Using the Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression Scale, an Eligibility Questionnaire, and a Demographic Questionnaire, the researcher collected data from a convivence sample of the military service members who were currently serving or have served in the military from verified military groups on Facebook (N = 151).
An analysis of the data found that gender was a significant predictor of rape myth scores. Males were found to have higher scores on the Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression than females, indicating more negative attitudes towards rape myths. There were no other significant results found with the other demographic variables.
NSUWorks Citation
Essence Anderson. 2024. Exploring the Differences in Military Attitudes Toward Rape Myths and Their Relationship to Demographic Factors. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. (710)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/fse_etd/710.
