More than the sum of its risk factors: protective factors improve the prediction of victim blame, consent perceptions, and rape proclivity in young heterosexual men

Objective: Research on sexual aggression has primarily identified risk factors, while considerably less is known about protective factors that reduce perpetration. This study examined how protective factors (i.e., positive consent attitudes, anti-rape attitudes, and empathy), along with risk factors (i.e., hostile masculinity and impersonal sex), relate to victim blame, distorted perceptions of consent, and rape proclivity. Method: A pilot study (N = 50) was conducted to select four rape vignettes, depicting partner, date, party acquaintance, and stranger rape. Then, a sample of heterosexual men aged 18-25 (N = 224) was recruited to assess the added value of protective factors over risk factors and to predict victim blame, distorted consent perceptions, and rape proclivity using mixed-effects models. Results: The addition of protective factors significantly improved predictions of all outcome measures. More specifically, hostile masculinity as a risk factor and anti-rape attitudes as a protective factor were the strongest unique predictors in the known-perpetrator scenarios. Effects of impersonal sex, positive consent attitudes, and empathy were largely nonsignificant, with only a few small effects emerging in specific vignettes. Conclusions: This study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of rape-related cognitions and proclivity by demonstrating that incorporating protective factors improves predictive accuracy. The results highlight the importance of addressing both risk and protective factors in risk assessment and prevention programs.