This symposium explores the alcohol-aggression link in cases of sexual
assault. Presenters will report data that not only describe the frequency
of alcohol use in sexual assaults, but will be explore mechanisms responsible
for the link. Specifically, the role of alcohol will be described in adolescent
and college students' experiences of acquaintance sexual assault. Sexually
aggressive behaviors occurring in bars will also be described. Theoretical
perspectives will focus on cognitive factors operating in victims and perpetrators.
A prospective, event-based analysis of sexual aggression
associated with bars
Kathleen A. Parks and Lisa Zetes-Zanetta
(Research Institute on Addictions, Buffalo, NY)
Fifty-one women participated in a study of sexual aggression in bars.
Aggression was reported through daily logs and detailed accounts from interviews.
Thirty-four percent of verbally aggressive incidents were sexual, whereas
15% of physically aggressive incidents were sexual. Women reporting verbal,
sexual aggression consumed 6.8 drinks, whereas women reporting moderate,
sexual aggression consumed 5.1 drinks prior to the incident. For each aggressive
incident, a matched event in which aggression did not occur was obtained.
Comparisons of matched events are discussed.(back
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Alcohol's relationship to recognizing and resisting
sexual aggression
Jeannette Norris, Paula S. Nurius, and Jan F. Gaylord
(Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington, Seattle,
WA)
Women's ability to resist sexual aggression by an acquaintance is influenced
by their cognitive appraisals of the situation. Alcohol consumption can
affect women's appraisals through its focusing effect. How alcohol can
decrease women's ability to recognize and resist sexual aggression was
investigated in 404 college women who completed questionnaires assessing
an incident of physical sexual coercion, rape, or attempted rape, 50% of
which involved alcohol. Implications for prevention of sexual assault will
be discussed.
Links among alcohol, misperception, and sexual assault: Evidence from
laboratory and field research
Antonia Abbey, Pam McAuslan, and Tina Zawaki (Wayne State University,
Detroit, MI)
Abbey and her colleagues (Abbey, 1991; Abbey et al., 1994) developed
a theoretical model examining the relationship between alcohol, misperception
of sexual intent, and sexual assault. The results of a cross-sectional
survey of sexual assault experiences and a balanced placebo alcohol administration
study provide corroborative evidence of the role of alcohol in misperception
and sexual assault. The results have important implications for research
and prevention programming related to violence against women.(back
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Aggression: Historical, Sociological, and Aesthetic
Perspectives Evolutionary bias, democratic regimes, and war 1816-1995
J. D. Singer
(University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI)
The "Democratic Peace" strategy rests on these empirical assumptions:
a) that pairs of democratic states very rarely go to war against one another;
b) that it is possible to increase the number of democratic states in the
global system; and thus c) to reduce the incidence of interstate war.
But if the empirical evidence indicates that: a) the dyadic peace proposition
rests on dubious criteria and coding rules and b) that the human evolutionary
bias is away from egalitarian and toward more authoritarian societies,
it may be that pressing the less democratic states to change course could
not only not do much for world peace, but perhaps even lead to more war.(back
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Violence, ritual, and aesthetics: Symbolic experience
Dawn M. Perlmutter
(Cheyney University, Cheyney, PA)
In this paper violent actions will be examined through theories of
symbolism in the disciplines of aesthetics and ritual studies. It will
be demonstrated that ritual, aesthetics and violence are endemic to society,
are intrinsically intertwined and are manifested in symbolic interactions.
Theories of intention and response in the veneration and desecration of
images, idolatry and iconoclasm, will be correlated to actions of physical
mutilation to illustrate similarities in symbolic phenomenological experience.(back
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Violence in Egypt and Algeria: A comparative historical
and sociological analysis
Mohammed Aboel Enien
(United Arab Emirates University, UAE)
The violence events that erupted in Egypt and Algeria recently have
their explanation in the social, economic, and political history of both
countries. This paper aims at presenting a historical and sociological
analysis of recent developments which resulted in the outbreak of violence.
The paper benefits from a wide range of literature on the social history
and political sociology of both the Egyptian and Algerian societies. The
paper attempts to answer the following questions: What are the major
factors behind the spread of violence in Egypt and Algeria? Who are the
main parties in the current crisis? How do intellectuals interpret the
situation? (content analysis of newspaper material) What are the possible
scenarios for the future? As a comparative study, the paper is also
meant to outline the main similarities and differences between Egypt and
Algeria in order to establish a comparative approach to the study of political
violence in developing countries.(back
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On aggression
Valeri Dinev
(Sofia University, Sofia, Bulgaria)
The research on aggression can be summarized into four basic trends:
psychological (S. Freud), biological (K. Lorenz), sociological (B. Skinner)
and pharmacological (N. Avis). Among these the biological one is the most
elaborated and influential. Our opinion is that the human being has
inborn biological predispositions to aggression and not pure instincts.
And these predispositions can be increased or diminished depending on social
conditions. Some think that persons with excessive "aggressive energy"
subconsciously strive towards profession, which give them the opportunity
to "discharge" this energy in their everyday work—military, police, surgery,
etc. Creative work is considered to be another kind of sublimation
of "aggressive energy."(back to top)
Moral poverty or imperiled self: Urban violence and
the experience of betrayal
Michael Flynn
(John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, NY)
Taking issue with the "moral poverty" theory of youth violence forwarded
by Bennett and DiUllio, this paper will argue that violence springs from
the perceived threats to the self. Drawing from phenomenologically-based
research and clinical work with male urban youth, this paper will discuss
the role a sense of emotional and moral betrayal plays in violence.
It will also argue that for many young men violence can be an effective
way of bestowing a sense of moral order and virtue.(back
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