Alcohol Consumption and Expectancies Among Sexually Coercive College Men

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between college men's self-reported histories of coercive sexual behavior, alcohol consumption, and alcohol expectancies regarding sexual behaviors. Hypotheses were (a) history of sexually coercive behavior would be associated with more alcohol consumption, (b) sexually coercive men would hold greater alcohol expectancies for sexual behaviors, and (c) alcohol expectancies would moderate the relationship between alcohol consumption and sexual coercion. In addition, the authors hypothesized that alcohol expectancies would vary as a function of the method of sexual coercion used, such that men reporting that they had sexually coerced a woman by giving her alcohol would hold greater alcohol expectancies than would coercive men who used other methods. Results supported the first three hypotheses. However, men who used alcohol as a means of coercion did not hold significantly greater alcohol expectancies than did coercive men who used other means.