Volume 4 • Issue 5 • 1000161 J Psychol Psychother ISSN: 2161-0487 JPPT, an open access journal Research Article Open Access Pereira, J Psychol Psychother 2014, 4:6 DOI: 10.4172/2161-0487.1000161 Research Article Open Access Date Rape: Prevalence and Attitudes among Portuguese University Students Henrique Pereira* and Mariana Ornelas Graça Department of Psychology and Education, University of Beira Interior, Psychology & Health Research Unit, ISPA-IU, Portugal *Corresponding author: Henrique Pereira, Department of Psychology and Education, University of Beira Interior, Portugal & Psychology & Health Research Unit, ISPA-IU, Portugal, Tel: +351914572131; E - m a i l : hpereira@ubi.pt Received June 17, 2014; Accepted October 20, 2014; Published October 28, 2014 Citation: Pereira H (2014) Date Rape: Prevalence and Attitudes among Portuguese University Students. J Psychol Psychother 4: 161. doi: 10.4172/2161-0487.1000161 Copyright: © 2014 Pereira H. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of date rape among Portuguese students as well as to assess their attitudes towards this phenomenon and explore differences between genders. Methods: A sample of 1013 (697 women and 316 men) University Students, from Portuguese Universities, answered the College Date Rape Attitudes Survey (a 17-item questionnaire). The prevalence of date rape in this sample was also measured with a questionnaire, assessing if the participants had ever been victims or perpetrators. Results: The results showed that in general there are high levels of disagreement regarding Date rape, which indicates that attitudes towards this type of violence are very negative. Nevertheless, statistically signifcant differences between sexes were found (p<0,001) which indicates that men have lower levels of disagreement when compared with women. The prevalence of date rape in this sample was 4.3% and majority of victims were females (87%). Conclusion: Attitudes towards Date rape among Portuguese University Students are very negative. The prevalence of date rape in this study is signifcantly lower when compared to other countries. This may be related with the fact that in Portugal the Students are not confned to a restricted study area (College Campuses). Keywords: Date Rape; Prevalence; Attitudes; Portuguese students Introduction Te term ``Date rape´´ refers to the non-consensual sexual activity among people who know each other, and meet in a dating context. In this type of rape the aggressor has to know the victim, however, he may know her only on a platonic or sexual level. Tis particular type of sexual assault takes place during a social interaction between the rapist and the victim, hence the name date rape. Te assault may be planned or spontaneous, and it can be described as an acquaintance rape, as it involves non-consensual sex between two people who are dating, whether it is a frst date or an established relationship [1]. It is estimated that the majority of rapes are caused by someone the victim knows [2], and past research has shown that date rape is a crime that still happens with surprising frequency, particularly on University and College campuses [3]. In fact, about 80% of all the rapes that happen in University and College campuses are date rapes [4]. Te majority of date rape victims are women, especially teenagers and young adults, which represent a highly vulnerable group [5]. About 71% of these women are between the ages of 14 and 17, and 22% between the ages of 19 and 24 [6]. In a North American study of 2006, 27% of the students reported that they had already had some type of forced sex [7]. Also in the U.S.A, a study from 2007 reported that about 23% of women and 7% of the men had already had one or more experiences of non- consensual sex [8]. In another study, exclusively with a female population, 21% of young college students had sufered date rape attempts, and 13% had already been victims [9]. In the U.S.A there are estimations that one woman out of 4 has been a victim of rape during their college studies [10]. Although, this is a transversal problem to all societies, date rape still remains under-recognized and relatively under-studied in Portugal. Nevertheless there are some studies on the subject. For instance, a 2003 study [11] verifed that one in every four Portuguese university students had been a victim of a non-consensual sexual experience. Kissing, caressing and sexual coercion were the most frequent types of aggression, usually resulting of the use of pressure (through verbal arguments). About 27% of them stated that they had been victims of non-consensual sexual relations. Tere are several, risks factors from which potential victims should know to protect themselves, one of which is alcohol consumption. Alcohol is a disinhibiting substance which infuences one’s self- perception; thus, a drunk person has very little notion of the danger, becoming much more vulnerable to rape situations [12]. Wenger and Bornstein, state that some 40% of all date rape victims, and 55% of all the aggressors, were under the efect of alcohol [13], confrming that it is a risk factor for both victims andaggressors. Afer excessive alcohol consumption, factors such as the gender attributes and the type of clothes the victim is wearing, gain more relevance, increasing the probability of occurrence of date rape [14]. Date Rape is a sexuality-related, complex phenomenon. Sexuality is still a very sensitive subject, and considered a taboo, being addressed with difculty by our society. Tus, myths regarding sexuality infuence the way people see Date rape and, consequently, the way they assign the blame. Like other types of violence, Date Rape is related to gender- based violence [15], although specifc to a pattern of aggression, that is rarely recognized as sexually abusive or criminal [1]. Putman’s [16] study showed that individuals (in general) tend to have less empathy, and attribute more guilt to the date rape victims. Tis type of prejudice may induce, in these victims, the feeling that they are somewhat Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy J o u r n a l o f P s y c h o l o g y & P s y c h o t h e r a p y ISSN: 2161-0487