1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The goal of the present study was to examine the potentially complex association between men’s neuroticism and SC [sexual coercion] toward an intimate partner.» (p. 1038)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«Using a large sample of couples from the general population, we examined the hypothesis that both high and very low levels of neuroticism predict a higher use of SC, while low to moderate levels predict a lower use of SC.» (p. 1038)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«A total of 299 heterosexual couples were recruited from the [province of Quebec].» (p. 1039)

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«Results confirmed the main hypothesis […]. Lowest and highest levels of neuroticism were both predictive of men’s sexually coercive behaviors. More specifically, from very low to low levels the association between neuroticism and SC was negative, while from low/moderate levels to high levels of neuroticism this association was positive. […] Applied to SC, men with high emotional sensitivity and reactivity to negative emotions or situations (i.e., high in neuroticism) may be more prompted to use sexuality (regardless of the partner’s willingness) in an urge to gain the illusion of control over strong and overwhelming emotional states.» (p. 1042) «It is noteworthy that in the current study men reported perpetrating more SC than women reported experiencing from them. […] We propose some explanations for women’s underreporting of SC. First, the SC social scripts related to masculine and feminine roles could influence the perception of partners’ behaviors. […] Second, in another study using both partners’ reports of sexual coercion, Brousseau and colleagues (2011) found that both perpetrators and victims tend to underreport SC. They understood victim minimization as a way to decrease cognitive dissonance, elicited by the paradox of “admitting” to being in a violent relationship.» (p. 1043)