Jacob Tengelsen and Robert Ridge, Psychology

The project that Dr. Ridge and I have been working on has produced several interesting results, some of which are academic, and many of which are personal. Through this report, I will summarize the impact that this project has had on me as a researcher and the steps Dr. Ridge and I have taken to conduct this research in an ethical and objective manner. Next, I will briefly summarize the results of our study. I will then discuss plausible interpretations of the data found, future possibilities with this kind of research, and limitations. For a more comprehensive background and understanding of this project, please review my application.

The ORCA program was the most significant component of my education that contributed to my professional development as a researcher. I proposed a research idea to Dr. Ridge while I was still a student in his social psychology class. Dr. Ridge helped me flesh out the idea, obtain research credit, and even leadership experience by bringing research assistants on to our team to work on the study. Though I could have led better, I learned to see the big picture and delegate aspects of the work to other team members. Being an effective part of a research team on an original project was a new experience and one that I value greatly.

There were several steps taken to ensure that our research project was conducted safely, accurately, and in a manner that would provide valid answers to the question “why are victims of sexual abuse at higher risk for future sexual aggression than those who have not experience sexual aggression?” The first challenge was designing the study. Many hours of research were spent evaluating the appropriate measures for past sexual abuse and aggression. We found what questionnaires would be best for us to use, and what key features of aggression we could incorporate into our hypothetical dating profile. Once we were able to create a suitable study design, it went through several drafts. The profiles had to be distinguishable, but not disparate. We eventually came up with a study that met BYU’s IRB requirements, possessed the necessary components to answer out research question and had proven to be an effective measurement of both experienced sexual aggression and partner preference. The study was loaded up onto the BYU’s SONA website where students could participate in our study at their own discretion for class credit.

Our study pooled the results from 165 participants, 160 of which completed the survey. 89% of were Caucasian, 4% were Asian, 3% were Hispanic or Latino, 1% were African American or Black, 1% were American Indian or Alaska Native, 1% were Pacific Islander, and 1% described themselves as “Other”. All participants were female. Most participants were psychology undergraduate students. The ages ranged from 17 to 58 with a vast majority of participants between the ages of 18 to 21.

Our results indicated that, on average, whether a woman had been abused or not, they did not find men with aggressive tendencies more attractive. This was a surprising result since prior research had suggested that victims were attracted to aggressive partners as a subconscious method of finding protection. Our data showed that, though only 13% of participants indicated that they had been sexually abused, 44.3% indicated a response in the questionnaire suggesting that they had been sexually abused. This indicates that many women experience sexual abuse, but do not consider themselves so. Anecdotally, these results are consistent with prior research on the topic.

The most fascinating result we found was a marginal interaction with a p value of 0.091 between the way that victims and non-victims perceived their vulnerability. Our subjects – consistent with prior research – were able to identify aggressive risk factors in potential dates, whether they had been victims or not. Our subjects, victims and non-victims alike, were less interested in aggressive dating profiles. However, victims of sexual abuse were marginally less likely to think that an aggressive person would act aggressively towards them, whereas non-victims considered themselves to be as likely as anyone else to be a target of aggression. This finding, though not hypothesized, is very important.

There are several ways that one can interpret this data. The theories that seem most consistent with our findings were originally not considered in the design. Still, theories on perceived invulnerability have shown promising results to help explain smoking, risky sexual behavior, and now partner selection in victims of sexual aggression. This interpretation of the data presents similar suggestions on intervention that public health officials and social workers have implemented in the war on tobacco. I concede, that there are many other ways to interpret the data and draw conclusions, yet theories on perceived invulnerability currently make the most sense to me.

Another perplexing facet of this finding is that we can not suggest causation. Not only is it not significant, but it can be interpreted in several ways. It may be that women who are sexually abused develop a schema that makes them think they are impervious to an aggressive partner’s behavior, or it could be that women who already carry this mentality of perceived invulnerability are at a higher risk for dating aggressive characters who are, in turn, more likely to abuse.

There were some obvious limitations with our study. BYU’s particular religious demographic may have had an interesting effect on the results. We also capped our sample size at 160 to ensure that we were not exposing students to potentially discomforting stimuli unnecessarily. With a larger and more varied sample size, there may have been some disparate results. To overcome these limitations, we hope to renew permission from the IRB in order to collaborate with other universities. Collecting the sample size we hoped for took longer than expected. This too, slowed our progress towards our end goal. Initially we had hoped for results that would be significant enough to publish. With our current findings, an article is still forthcoming, but will likely only be presented at a small social psychology convention.

Ultimately, this project has proven to be an incredible learning experience for me. Professionally and academically, I have obtained invaluable knowledge. Through the ORCA program I have begun a lifelong pursuit of research to better help populations in need. Thank you for your assistance in bettering the world and reviewing my brief report.