The Prediction of Sexual Aggression by Alcohol Use, Athletic Participation, and Fraternity Affiliation

Alcohol, athletics, and fraternities have been targeted in the popular media as primary causes of sexual aggression on campus. Except in the case of alcohol, the empirical data supporting these associations is weak. The present study assessed the joint contribution of these three variables to the prediction of sexual aggression among a sample of 530 undergraduate men including 140 athletes representing all varsity sports. Approximately 11% of the variance in the level of sexual aggression was accounted for by four variables including self-reported intensity of alcohol use and degree of athletic participation, but not fraternity affiliation. The alcohol and athletic variables also discriminated those men who reported participating in gang rapes ( N = 17) from those not involved. Although significant prediction was achieved, the results must be viewed cautiously as the power of the effects was small. The article concludes with the implications of the findings for rape prevention education.