(PS8-85) Political Orientation and Gender Differences in Endorsement of Rape Myth Acceptance

Background:  A common predictor of sexual assault perpetration is rape myth acceptance (RMA) – acceptance of prejudicial or false beliefs about rape, victims, and rapists (Burt, 1980). Political orientations (PO; conservative, liberal, moderate) vary in their approaches to maintaining gendered power structures (Ortiz & Smith, 2022), which may have implications for justifications of sexual assault (Lambert & Raichle, 2000). Conservative orientations tend to reflect greater acceptance of inequality (Jost et al., 2003) and traditional gender roles (Makwana et al., 2018), while liberal orientations emphasize sexual and gender individuality and nonjudgement (Wright & Tokunaga, 2018). Research suggests conservative individuals are more likely to blame female rape victims for sexual assault and dismiss the seriousness of rape (Craig & Cossette, 2020). However, this blame and dismissal have not been assessed in terms of RMA. Additionally, compared to women, men tend to report higher support for gender inequities (Pratto et al., 2006) and greater RMA endorsement (O’Byrne et al., 2008). Despite the differences in approach to gender equality and power, research has yet to assess how PO may be associated with RMA or if gender may moderate these associations. The current study addressed these gaps by assessing how conservative, liberal, and moderate POs are associated with RMA as moderated by gender. 

Method:  We recruited 238 participants (50% Hispanic; 61.8% cisgender woman; 88.2% between 18-20 years old; 44.5% Liberal) through a large university undergraduate pool in the Southwest who completed an online Qualtrics survey. Measures included the Rape Myth Scale (RMS) and the Political Beliefs Scale (PBS), with three subscales representing Conservative beliefs, Moderate beliefs, and Liberal beliefs. Regression analyses were used to analyze relationships between POs, gender, and RMA. 

Results:  Higher conservative beliefs (β = .44, p < .001) and lower moderate beliefs (β = -.33, p < .001) were significantly associated with greater RMA, while liberal beliefs demonstrated no significant associations. Men also endorsed RMA higher than women (β = -.19, p = .006). The association between moderate beliefs and RMA was moderated by gender (β = -.40, p = .021). Simple slopes revealed that among men, more moderate beliefs were significantly associated with less RMA (β = -.40, p = .003), while the association was non-significant for women (p = .649). Implications: This study provides novel empirical evidence that POs are significantly associated with RMA. The positive association between conservative PO and RMA may support the “legitimization hypothesis” proposed by Lambert & Raichle (2000), wherein conservative POs seek to maintain power and gender role conformity. The negative relationship between moderate PO and RMA may reflect how moderate beliefs tend to be less polarizing and binary, which may translate to less rigid conceptualizations of gendered power structures. Our significant interaction suggests that a nuanced moderate political belief system may be more important among men in terms of associations with RMA. Results can inform education initiatives of political ideology implications and interventions to reduce gendered power structures.