GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SEXUAL INFORMATION SOURCES, AND SEXUAL ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN TURKEY

Predicting Sexual Victimization Among College Students in Chile and Turkey: A Cross-Cultural Analysis

To address the shortage of cross-cultural research on vulnerability factors of sexual victimization, this two-wave longitudinal study examined predictors of sexual victimization among female and male college students in Chile (N = 1098) and Turkey (N = 885). These two countries were selected based on theoretical considerations regarding religiosity and gender inequality. A path model was tested that conceptualized participants' risky scripts for consensual sex, risky sexual behavior, sexual self-esteem, refusal assertiveness, and religiosity at T1 as predictors of sexual victimization in the following 12 months, as assessed at T2, mediated through past experiences of sexual victimization. As predicted, more risky sexual scripts were linked to more risky sexual behavior and lower refusal assertiveness, indirectly increasing the odds of sexual victimization in both countries. Lower sexual self-esteem predicted a higher probability of sexual victimization through lower refusal assertiveness as well as through more risky sexual behavior in both the Chilean and Turkish samples. Higher religiosity in Chile, a Christian country, and Turkey, a Muslim country, indirectly predicted a lower vulnerability to sexual victimization through less risky sexual scripts and less risky sexual behavior. In the Turkish sample only, higher religiosity predicted a higher vulnerability to sexual victimization through lower sexual self-esteem. The findings show that risky sexual scripts played a central role in the prediction of sexual victimization in both cultures, which has implications for prevention efforts.

Prevalence of Sexual Aggression Victimization and Perpetration in a Sample of Female and Male College Students in Turkey

In Turkey, there is a shortage of studies on the prevalence of sexual aggression among young adults. The present study examined sexual aggression victimization and perpetration since the age of 15 in a convenience sample of N = 1,376 college students (886 women) from four public universities in Ankara, Turkey. Prevalence rates for different coercive strategies, victim-perpetrator constellations, and sexual acts were measured with a Turkish version of the Sexual Aggression and Victimization Scale (SAV-S). Overall, 77.6% of women and 65.5% of men reported at least one instance of sexual aggression victimization, and 28.9% of men and 14.2% of women reported at least one instance of sexual aggression perpetration. Prevalence rates of sexual aggression victimization and perpetration were highest for current or former partners, followed by acquaintances/friends and strangers. Alcohol was involved in a substantial proportion of the reported incidents. The findings are the first to provide systematic evidence on sexual aggression perpetration and victimization among college students in Turkey, including both women and men.

Gender, Religiosity, Sexual Activity, Sexual Knowledge, and Attitudes Toward Controversial Aspects of Sexuality

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of gender, religiosity, sexual activity, and sexual knowledge in predicting attitudes toward controversial aspects of sexuality among Turkish university students. Participants were 162 female and 135 male undergraduate students who were recruited on a volunteer basis from an urban state university in Turkey. The SKAT-A Attitude Scale along with background information form, sexual activities inventory, and sexual knowledge scale were administered to the participants. Simultaneous multiple regression analyses revealed that religiosity, particularly attendance to religious services was the most significant predictor in explaining university students' attitudes toward masturbation, abortion, homosexuality, pornography, and sexual coercion.