Attitudes Toward Women and Rape Among Male Adolescents Convicted of Sexual Versus Nonsexual Crimes

Abstract

Adolescence is an important period in the development of adult sexual offending against women, yet it has received little attention in research on attitudes toward women and rape. The present study used the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS) and Burt's (1980) Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (BRMAS) to compare the attitudes of 31 male adolescents convicted of sexual assaults on women (rape, attempted rape, indecent assault) with the attitudes of 27 male adolescents convicted of nonsexual violent crimes. The results showed no significant difference between the two groups on either measure. Furthermore, a more traditional, conservative attitude toward women, as measured on the AWS, did not significantly correlate with the endorsement of rape myths as measured on the BRMAS. The findings are discussed with reference to the validity and reliability of these measures when used with adolescents.