Abstract

MARTINS, Sónia; MACHADO, Carla; ABRUNHOSA, Rui  and  MANITA, Celina. Escala de Crenças sobre Violência Sexual (ECVS). Aná. Psicológica [online]. 2012, vol.30, n.1-2, pp.177-191. ISSN 0870-8231.

The dominant culture sends out powerful messages about rape, sex and violence. Many studies postulated that conceptions of what events constitute sexual violence are influenced by the attitudes of those in their immediate social network. Sexist attitudes and rape-supporting beliefs have long been linked to relationship aggression and sexual violence. Attitudes toward sexual violence seem to be linked to traditional gender-role stereotypes, in particular those related to sexual behavior. The ECVS measures the degree to which a person sustains false information about sexual violence (false beliefs about sexual violence that are used to justify sexual violence and trivialize its effects on the victims). High scores indicate that a person is more tolerant to sexual violence. The ECVS was administered to a national sample of 1.000 university students. The psychometric properties of the ECVS were examined. Using principal components analysis we presented five independent factors. The scale has an alpha coefficient (internal consistency reliability) of .91. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the ability of the ECVS to detect attitudes and beliefs associated with sexual violence and to subsequently develop appropriate educational and intervention programs to address and ultimately prevent sexual aggression.

Keywords : Attitudes and rape-supporting beliefs; Rape myths; Sexual violence.

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