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Rape Myth Acceptance Impacts the Reporting of Rape to the Police: A

Study of Incarcerated Women
Nicole M. Heath, Shannon M. Lynch, April M. Fritch and Maria M. Wong
Violence Against Women 2013 19: 1065
DOI: 10.1177/1077801213501841

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VAW19910.1177/1077801213501841Violence Against WomenHeath et al.

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Violence Against Women
19(9) 1065­–1078
Rape Myth Acceptance © The Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/1077801213501841
Rape to the Police: A Study of vaw.sagepub.com

Incarcerated Women

Nicole M. Heath1, Shannon M. Lynch2,

April M. Fritch3, and Maria M. Wong2

Abstract
We examined the association between rape myth acceptance (RMA) and reporting
rapes to the police. Situational characteristics of the rape (e.g., stranger attack,
injury) are known predictors of reporting, but no existing studies have examined
the association between beliefs about rape and reporting. In addition, most studies
of RMA do not assess victimization history. Incarcerated women experience high
rates of sexual assaults prior to incarceration. We recruited 74 rape survivors from
a northwestern state prison. Results suggest that women who endorsed higher
levels of RMA were less likely to report their rapes to police; however, participants
endorsed few rape myths.

Keywords
rape myths, reporting, sexual assault

Roughly 1 in every 6, or 17.7 million American women, are the victims of attempted
or completed rape (Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998). However, the majority of rapes go
unreported (Wolitzky-Taylor et al., 2011). The National Crime Victimization Survey
(NCVS) revealed that until very recently, rape and sexual assault were the least

1Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA

2Idaho State University, Pocatello, USA
3Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, HI, USA

Corresponding Author:
Nicole M. Heath, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, 1645 W. Jackson,
Suite 400, Chicago, IL 60612, USA .
Email: Nicole_Heath@rush.edu

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1066 Violence Against Women 19(9)

reported of all violent crimes (Rennison & Rand, 2003). Specifically, this study indi-
cates that less than 54% of all rapes are brought to the attention of law enforcement
officials. Other psychological research suggests even lower rates of reporting, stating
that only between 5% and 31% of rape victims inform the authorities (Fisher, Daigle,
Cullen, & Turner, 2003; McGregor, Wiebe, Marion, & Livingstone, 2000; Ullman,
1996; Wolitzky-Taylor et al., 2011).
Research has shown that situational characteristics of the rape event are correlated
with the likelihood that a victim will report. Nearly three decades ago, Williams (1984)
introduced the concept of “the classic rape” as the most likely circumstances in which
a woman reports a rape to the police. This scenario includes abduction, the perpetrator
being a stranger, severe force, and serious injury. These situational characteristics of
rape have been consistently replicated as correlates of the likelihood that a victim will
report to the police (Bachman, 1998; DuMont, Miller, & Myhr, 2003; McGregor et al.,
2000; Menard, 2005). Williams suggested victims of this specific type of rape are
more likely to report, because they see themselves as real crime victims. Notably,
Fisher and colleagues (2003) found that over 42% of rape victims who did not report
to the police stated their primary reason for remaining silent was that they were not
sure a crime had been committed. Finally, victims who were raped by an acquaintance
are more reluctant to involve the police out of fear that the legal authorities will not
believe them (McGregor et al., 2000; Sudderth, 1998). This is clearly problematic,
however, given that 69% to 80% of all sexual assault victims know their assailants
(Rennison & Rand, 2003; Sudderth, 1998).
Defining a rape based on its resemblance to the “classic rape” scenario, as well as
other beliefs that negatively impact women’s decisions to report to the police (e.g.,
victim blame), are examples of a larger set of cultural beliefs known as rape myths.
Rape myths are specific beliefs about rape that are widespread and persistently held,
despite the fact that they are largely false (Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1994). These authors
note that rape myths include beliefs such as: It is the woman’s fault, she “deserves” it
based on what she was wearing, partners cannot commit rape, she did not say “no” or
fight back and thus it was consensual, or the victim is lying (i.e., “crying rape”).
The extent to which one believes rape myths to be true (rape myth acceptance
[RMA]) has been shown to be influenced by perpetrator type. Studies have demon-
strated that people who have not been raped tend to consider stranger assault to be
more of a “real” crime and more distressing than acquaintance rape (Whatley, 1996)
and that they assign more responsibility (i.e., blame) to victims of acquaintance rape
than to victims of stranger rape (Abrams, Viki, Masser, & Bohner, 2003; Monson,
Langhinrichsen-Rohling, & Binderup, 2000). This is especially true when rape victims
are women of color. Specifically, researchers found that African American and Latina
rape victims are less likely than White women to receive sympathy from others, dis-
close experiences of sexual assault, seek help, or report this to the police (Bryant-
Davis, Chung, Tillman, & Belcourt, 2009; Tillman, Bryant-Davis, Smith, & Marks,
2010). However, little research has assessed levels of RMA among rape victims.
Notably, most studies that assess RMA make no mention of previous victimization
history (Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1995; Monson et al., 2000).

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Heath et al. 1067

A study by DuMont and colleagues (2003) was one of the first to look at specific
rape myths (and identify them as “rape myths”) as they relate to women’s reporting to
police. They found that victims’ reporting to the police was significantly associated
with the use of physical force and injury to the victim (which are, in essence, compo-
nents of the “classic rape,” that is, myths). However, this study did not directly mea-
sure RMA of the rape victims themselves as the authors obtained their data from
hospital incident reports and correlated characteristics of the assault with reporting
behavior. At this time, there is no present research that examines the actual association
between the attitudinal variable of RMA and reporting to the police.

Incarcerated Women and the Present Research

Within the prison system, women comprise a small, but rapidly increasing percentage
of the total prison population. The U.S. Department of Justice reported that the rate of
incarceration of women is double that of men (Sabol, Minton, & Harrison, 2007), and
other research has shown that between 1990 and 2000, the number of women in prison
has increased by 108% (Bloom, Owen, & Covington, 2003). Further, researchers have
consistently found that women in prison experience substantially higher lifetime rates
of physical and sexual abuse compared with women in the general population.
Conservative estimates suggest that 43% to 50% of female inmates have experienced
some form of abuse prior to incarceration (Bloom et al., 2003; Browne, Miller, &
Maguin, 1999; Hills, Siegfried, & Ickowitz, 2004), although some studies show that
80% to 90% of incarcerated women have experienced at least one form of interper-
sonal trauma (Covington, 1998; Green, Miranda, Daroowalla, & Siddique, 2005).
Incarcerated women differ from the general population, not just in prevalence of
experiencing sexual violence, but also due to their criminal involvement. Studies have
shown that approximately 80% of women in prison have substance use problems and
that these problems are highly related to their criminal behavior in ways such as using
illegal drugs, being under the influence of drugs during the commission of the crime,
or committing crimes to sustain a drug habit (Bloom et al., 2003; Bloom, Owen, &
Covington, 2004; Browne et al., 1999; Green et al., 2005). However, as is true for all
women regardless of incarceration status, women using substances are at greater risk
for experiencing sexual violence and often use substances as a means to cope with
negative affect and psychological symptoms following a sexual assault (Brady, Back,
& Coffey, 2004; Chilcoat & Breslau, 1998). In this regard, women in prison demon-
strate similar patterns to the general population in coping with sexual assault. Browne
and colleagues (1999) highlight the strong links between interpersonal trauma and
substance use and conclude that such high rates of pre-incarceration trauma among
this specific population is likely to contribute to the increasing imprisonment of
women.
Despite the high prevalence of sexual violence, this population is starkly under-
studied and little is known about variables related to the sexual assault experiences of
incarcerated women. Understanding these women’s reporting behaviors and levels of
RMA may not only highlight links between these specific variables, but also provide

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1068 Violence Against Women 19(9)

a greater opportunity to understand whether RMA is a true barrier for incarcerated

women, provide a potential target for intervention given the high rates of violence and
the likelihood of revictimization, as well as contributing to our general understanding
of an under-researched population.
The goal of the present study was to assess RMA in incarcerated women and to exam-
ine the extent to which it contributes to women’s likelihood to report an assault to the
police. We hypothesized that incarcerated women, similar to women in the general popula-
tion, would be more likely to report stranger rapes to the police than they would rapes that
were committed by someone known to the victim (Bachman, 1998; DuMont et al., 2003;
McGregor et al., 2000). In addition, we expected that RMA will be a significant, unique
predictor of reporting beyond that of the relationship to the perpetrator. Finally, we expected
to find an interaction between RMA and perpetrator type, such that when a woman endorses
high levels of RMA in combination with having been assaulted by a known perpetrator,
this will significantly decrease her likelihood of reporting to the police.

Method
Participants
The participants in this study were 74 women incarcerated at a northwestern U.S. women’s
correctional facility who participated in a larger study of female offenders’ (N = 102)
trauma exposure and treatment needs. The 74 women who experienced sexual assaults
comprise the sample for this study. Many of these women (76%) indicated multiple rape
incidents; they identified a total of 157 sexual assaults. Of these women, 66.2% were
Caucasian, 11.8% were Hispanic, 4.9% were Native American, 2.9% were African
American, and 16.7% identified as multiethnic. This distribution of ethnic diversity is simi-
lar to the overall corrections population in the northwestern region where the data were
collected. However, ethnic minority women were highly overrepresented in this prison
sample compared with the general population in this region (6.7% Hispanic, 3.2% Native
American, 0.8% African American, and 2.7% multiethnic; U.S. Census Bureau, 2010).
The participants reported a mean age of 32.61 (SD = 8.96). The majority of the women
were incarcerated for nonviolent crimes. Specifically, 54.05% were convicted of a drug-
related crime, 35.14% were charged with property damage (e.g., burglary, forgery), 14.86%
were convicted of a parole or probation violation, and 8.11% were charged with driving
under the influence. Only 9.5% committed a violent crime such as manslaughter or assault.
Some inmates were convicted of multiple crimes simultaneously; thus, these percentages
are not orthogonal. All women in this sample were eligible for release within 2 years from
the time of the interview, and 97.3% of participants had been incarcerated for 48 months or
less at the time of the interview.

Measures
Demographics questionnaire.  Basic demographic information was collected from every
participant. Specifically, age, ethnicity, education, employment history, income,

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Heath et al. 1069

marital status, number of children under age 18, present charges, and sentence length
were assessed.

Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale–Short Form (IRMA-SF).  The IRMA-SF (Payne, Lon-
sway, & Fitzgerald, 1999) contains 20 of the items that are presented on the full ver-
sion of the IRMA Scale. The IRMA-SF (α = .87) assesses general rape myth acceptance
via the participant’s endorsement of items on a Likert-type scale from 1 (not at all
agree) to 7 (very much agree). Payne and colleagues found that the IRMA-SF also
demonstrated good construct validity, in that participants’ scores were significantly
associated with known correlates (e.g., adversarial sexual beliefs, hostility toward
women, acceptance of interpersonal violence). In this study, the obtained Cronbach’s
α for this measure was .80.

Trauma History Questionnaire (THQ).  The THQ (Green, 1996) is a 24-item measure that
is designed to screen for exposure to various types of trauma in the content areas of
crime-related events, general disaster and trauma, and physical and sexual experi-
ences. Survivors of sexual assault were identified by answering “yes” to the item
which asks: “Has anyone ever made you have intercourse, oral or anal sex against your
will?” Participants who endorsed this item were also asked to indicate the nature of
relationship(s) to perpetrator, age(s), and frequency of assaults. An internal consis-
tency statistic was not calculated for this scale, as one traumatic event does not neces-
sarily correlate with, or presume the presence of, another trauma.

Semistructured interview questions regarding reporting.  A series of open-ended questions

and prompts was created for the larger treatment needs study to assess various aspects
of the disclosure of sexual assault. Women’s responses about reporting to the police for
each sexual assault experienced were coded as affirmative or negative to examine the
association between reporting and RMA.

Procedures
Inmates were invited to participate in this study as part of an IRB-approved longitudi-
nal study of incarcerated women’s trauma exposure and treatment needs. Inclusion
criteria were English proficiency, age 18 or older, and an expected release date within
2 years. The study was announced on each prison unit. Women were invited to partici-
pate in interviews about “stressful life events and how they are feeling and coping
now.” Roughly 300 women reside in the prison at any given time. The average sen-
tence length is about 2 years; thus, the majority of the prison inmates were eligible to
participate, and approximately one third chose to take part in the study. Inmates who
volunteered met individually in private rooms with clinically trained graduate student
interviewers to complete the informed consent and the questionnaire packets. The
interviewers read the directions, question items, and answer options aloud, while the
participants read along with their own copy. This ensured that women of all reading
abilities could be included in the study.

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1070 Violence Against Women 19(9)

Results
Descriptive Statistics
Due to the higher than expected number of assaults identified by the participants, the
data were recoded such that each case in the data set represented separate experiences of
sexual assault. As mentioned earlier, there were a total of 157 rapes experienced by 74
participants. Data were organized per assault, because many of the participants indicated
that they were assaulted by people of differing relationships (e.g., strangers, known
assailants) and had differentially chosen to report (or not) these events to the police.
Given that multiple observations were taken from some participants, we utilized an
intraclass correlation to test whether we were violating the assumption of the indepen-
dence of observations required for logistic regression analyses. An intraclass correla-
tion is defined as the ratio of the between-cluster variance (in this case, the
between-subject variance) on the perpetrator variable and the reporting variable
divided by the sum of the within- and between-cluster variance on these same vari-
ables (Muthén, 2000). For the present study, the intraclass correlation for the perpetra-
tor variable was equal to .446 and the intraclass correlation for the reporting variable
was .128. The overall design effect for the perpetrator variable was then equal to 1.50,
while the design effect for the reporting variable is 1.14. Both of these values are not
considered to be significantly large. Thus, we were able to treat each assault within the
data set as an independent observation (Muthén, 2000).
The participants noted the following types of relationships with the perpetrators:
27.4% were partners, 22.3% were family members, 16.6% were strangers, 15.3% were
acquaintances, 12.1% were friends, and 6.4% were gang rapes. To sum up, over three
quarters of all the perpetrators were someone who was known to the victim. Thus,
perpetrator type was dichotomized in all analyses as either known (coded as 0) or
unknown (coded as 1) to the participant.
Slightly over half of all rapes (50.3%) were committed when the participant was
less than 18 years of age, 44.6% when the participant was above 18, 3.8% during both
life periods (i.e., she experienced a chronic event, usually by a partner who assaulted
her multiple times, that spanned from late adolescence through adulthood), and 1.3%
of cases had missing information as to when the assault occurred.
In general, the participants endorsed relatively few rape myths (M = 30.54, SD =
12.52; where the range of possible total scores for this measure is 17-119). This low
rate of endorsement resulted in significantly skewed RMA scores (skewness = 1.499,
kurtosis = 2.007). Due to this non-normal distribution, a logarithmic transformation of
the rape myth acceptance total score was included in all subsequent regression analy-
ses (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). Finally, only 23.7% of the rapes were brought to the
attention of the authorities.

Logistic Regression Analyses

We used a sequential logistic regression to test whether relationship to the perpetrator
and RMA were associated with the likelihood of reporting to the police. Ethnicity and

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Heath et al. 1071

level of education were found to be significantly related to RMA, thus they were
included in the analyses as covariates. Given that the number of women who identified
with ethnic groups other than Caucasian was relatively small (n = 2-12 per ethnic cat-
egory), ethnicity is represented in this study with two groups: women of color and
Caucasian women. Specifically, women of color scored significantly higher on the
logarithmic transformation of the rape myth total score (M = 1.510, SD = .186) than
did Caucasian women (M = 1.425, SD = .126), t(99) = 2.74, p = .007. For these analy-
ses, minority women were coded as 0, while Caucasian women were coded as 1. In
addition, level of education (a continuous variable) and endorsed RMA levels were
negatively correlated, such that women with more education were less likely to accept
rape myths, r = −.389, p< .001.
Due to ethnicity and education being significantly related to RMA, the primary
variable of interest in this study, these demographic variables were entered in the first
block of the sequential logistic regression model as control variables; perpetrator type
was then added as a predictor in the second block. As expected, when controlling for
education and ethnicity, perpetrator type was a significant predictor of reporting to the
police, Wald χ2 = 9.856, OR = 3.704, p = .002. This indicated that the odds that a vic-
tim reported her rape to the police was 3.7 times more likely when the perpetrator was
a stranger than when the perpetrator was known to the victim. Overall, this model
correctly classified 78.1% of all cases, but only correctly classified 10.8% of rapes
reported to the police.
Subsequently, the logarithmic transformation of RMA was entered into the next block
of the logistic regression analysis. This was also a significant predictor of reporting when
controlling for education, ethnicity, and perpetrator type, Wald χ2 = 5.012, OR = .019, p =
.025. The odds ratio indicates that reporting to the police is 98.1 times less likely to occur
for every unit increase in the logarithmic transformation of RMA. Thus, greater endorse-
ment of RMA is associated with a lower likelihood of reporting a rape to the police. This
increased the correct classification of rapes reported to the police to 13.5%. Finally, we
computed an interaction between perpetrator type and RMA to be included in the final
block of this analysis and found that this was also a significant predictor of reporting,
Wald χ2 = 8.542, OR = 36096.75, p = .003 (see Table 1). This suggests that stranger rapes
are more likely to be reported to the police, regardless of the level of RMA. However, the
probability of reporting a rape to the police decreases dramatically when the perpetrator is
an acquaintance and the victim holds higher levels of RMA. For instance, as the logarith-
mic transformation of RMA increases from 1 to 3, the probability of reporting decreases
from .35 to .04, when the victim knows her assailant (see Figure 1). With the interaction
term added, the correct classification of rapes reported to the police increased to 18.9%.

Discussion
This study attempted to address existing deficits in the literature by examining the
association between attitudes reflecting rape myth acceptance and reporting to the
police among incarcerated survivors of sexual assault. First, it is important to note that
the frequency of sexual assault reported by the participants in this study is high. In all,

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1072 Violence Against Women 19(9)

Table 1.  Summary of Sequential Logistic Regression Analyses.

% correct classification
of cases

Wald Non- Re-

Variable OR χ2 95% CI p reporters porters Overall
Block 1 100 0 76.1
 Education 0.878 1.040 [.684, 1.127] .308  
 Ethnicity 1.563 1.049 [.665, 3.673] .306  
Block 2 99.2 10.8 78.1
  Perpetrator type 3.704 9.856 [1.635, 8.387] .002**  
Block 3 89.8 13.5 78.1
 logRMA 0.019 5.102 [1.887, 10.500] .025*  
Block 4 96.6 18.9 78.1
  Perp. × logRMA 36096.75 8.542 [31.714, 4.10E7] .003**  

Note. Outcome: Reporting to the police (0 = no, 1 = yes). Relationship between the probability of re-
porting and logRMA as it varies by perpetrator type. logRMA = logarithmic transformation of RMA, perp.
= perpetrator type.
* p< .05. **p< .01.

0.6

0.5
Probability of

0.4
Reporting

0.3
0.2

0.1

0
1 2 3
log RMA

Known Perpetrator
Stranger

Figure 1.  Relationship between the probability of reporting and logRMA as it varies by
perpetrator type.

74 of 102 women interviewed about stress and coping indicated experiencing at least
one rape in their lifetime. In addition, 76.1% of these assaulted women experienced
multiple assaults, such that there was a total of 157 rape events among these 74 women.
This obtained prevalence of sexual assault is similar to national averages reported for
incarcerated women in other studies (e.g., Bloom et al., 2003). These results provide

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Heath et al. 1073

unique additional information suggesting that many female offenders not only experi-
ence high rates of interpersonal violence, but also experience multiple assaults that
increase the risk of negative psychosocial outcomes.
This study also replicated past findings that one’s relationship to the perpetrator is
a significant predictor of reporting to the police (Bachman, 1998; DuMont et al., 2003;
McGregor et al., 2000). Logistic regression analyses indicated that women who were
raped by a stranger were approximately 3.7 times more likely to report to the police
than were survivors of sexual assaults committed by someone known to the partici-
pant. Next, when analyzing the unique relationship between RMA and reporting, inter-
pretation of the odds ratio showed that for every unit increase in the logarithmic
transformation of RMA, reporting to the police becomes 98.1 times less likely.
Although women were generally endorsing very low levels of rape myths, these atti-
tudes still appeared to be relevant to the decision to report (or not) to the police. The
interaction between RMA and perpetrator type suggests that beliefs about what consti-
tutes a rape or sexual crime impacts women’s decision making in regard to reporting.
In cases of high RMA and a known perpetrator, the probability of reporting to the
police appears even further diminished. There are no previous studies of survivors’
RMA and the association between RMA and reporting.
The finding that attitudinal variables are associated with a rape victim’s decision
about reporting to the police has implications for the development of advocacy and
psychoeducation programs to enhance victims’ willingness to report to the police.
Although the situational characteristics of a rape cannot be changed, it is possible to
impact one’s attitudes toward rape in general. Increasing the number of rapes that are
reported to the police (and subsequently the number of cases brought to court) has the
potential to deter the incidence of rape more generally.
At the individual level, understanding factors influencing a decision to report to the
police can also have significant effects on rape victims’ mental health. The literature
on the effects of disclosing a sexual assault to others more generally (e.g., to friends or
family) suggests that the act of telling others about having been raped as soon as pos-
sible after the event can result in higher self-esteem and fewer posttraumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) symptoms (Filipas & Ullman, 2001; Ruggiero et al., 2004). Thus, if
RMA is a potential barrier to disclosure of rape to the police (i.e., reporting), it could
then also be a barrier to psychological recovery and healing.
This added barrier to recovery also has implications for incarcerated women, as a
high percentage of them have been sexually assaulted and may experience psychologi-
cal sequelae as a result. Gender-responsive treatment for incarcerated women calls for
attending to interpersonal trauma and violence as a means to not only help women
recover, but also to prevent them from reoffending post-release (Bloom et al., 2003).
If this trauma-informed care included psychoeducation to decrease levels of RMA,
incarcerated women may also feel more willing to perceive legal authorities as
resources rather than adversaries.
Women of color comprised over one third of this sample and reported higher levels
of RMA than White women. Although ethnicity was not a significant predictor of
reporting to the police in the logistic regression analysis, this raises important

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1074 Violence Against Women 19(9)

questions about the potential role of ethnicity in relationships between RMA and other
rape-related variables. Previous studies have shown that women of color are less likely
to report a rape to the police or discuss it with friends or family (Bryant-Davis et al.,
2009; Tillman et al., 2010). Cultural beliefs and the importance of the community may
then be critical variables in the assessment of RMA as well. These potential relation-
ships warrant further investigation to better understand ways RMA may differ across
ethnic groups.

Limitations and Future Directions

There are some important limitations to this study. First, incarcerated women are a
unique population for several reasons as discussed earlier. Perhaps the most relevant
reason here is the fact that they experience substantially higher levels of interpersonal
violence than the general population; thus, these findings may not generalize to the
broader population. In addition, incarcerated women are also likely to have tenuous
relationships with law enforcement independent of their sexual assault history. Because
this is a population that has engaged in criminal behavior, other reasons for not report-
ing rape to the police (e.g., drawing unwanted attention to their illicit drug use, parole
violations, money crimes) could be potential covariates in this analysis. Future studies
assessing the relationship between RMA and reporting in other populations are neces-
sary. With further regard to sampling concerns, a self-selection bias may have occurred,
as this project was advertised as attending to “stressful life events.” As in all studies
investigating violence against women, there may be a significant difference between
women who volunteer to participate and those who do not. However, it is important to
recognize that one third of the women housed in the prison chose to participate.
Second, a sample of 74 women is relatively small and likely limited the number of
people who fell within the reporting group of the dependent variable; however, by
using event-level data, this allowed us to have a larger sample size (N = 157) without
violating any assumptions of independent observations. Third, this study only exam-
ined one aspect of situational characteristics of rape (i.e., relationship to the perpetra-
tor). Incorporating other rape characteristics (e.g., level of injury, perpetrator’s use of
a weapon) as predictors or control variables may further clarify the role of RMA in
disclosure or reporting processes.
Fourth, it should be noted that factors similar to RMA could also contribute to a
woman’s decision to report to the police. Examining the impact of related variables
such as rape acknowledgment and participants’ views of normative sexual experiences
(i.e., sexual scripts; see Kahn & Andreoli-Mathie, 2000; Kahn, Andreoli-Mathie, &
Torgler, 1994) in relation to RMA may prove fruitful. Fifth, accurate endorsement of
RMA may be adversely impacted by social desirability as the RMA variable was
highly positively skewed, requiring transformation. Though one study found no cor-
relation between these two constructs (Spohn, 1993), some of the IRMA-SF item con-
tent may be evocative for some participants. Therefore, future research ought to
continue to investigate this finding and attend to potential social desirability factors
when assessing RMA. Although RMA may be non-normally distributed, its effects on

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Heath et al. 1075

other variables related to sexual assault are still present and clearly relevant to further
investigation. Finally, the language on rape myth scales (e.g., IRMA-SF) may impact
women’s responses. For example, women may be more likely to endorse items if the
term “rape” was replaced with a less affectively laden term. Therefore, it may prove
beneficial to assess if this modification has unique effects on RMA. In addition, the
scale is written in the third person, possibly suggesting beliefs about the general
“woman” rather than eliciting women’s beliefs about themselves.
To summarize, this study successfully generalized prior research regarding rela-
tionship to the perpetrator as a predictor of reporting among incarcerated women, thus
expanding what is known about this largely understudied population. This project also
contributed to the small but growing literature on RMA by addressing potential limita-
tions of existing studies. First, we explored the extent of RMA in survivors of sexual
assaults rather than utilizing the common practice of relying on general or college
population samples reading vignettes about assaults and subsequently assessing RMA.
We also assessed participants’ actual endorsement of rape myths rather than extrapo-
lating RMA from other sources. Assessing RMA in a diverse sample of sexual assault
survivors provides important, additional evidence about the nature of the relationship
between RMA and reporting to the police. These findings suggest that attitudes about
rape in general impact a woman’s decision to report. Further assessment of these atti-
tudes in a variety of populations may have important implications for understanding
how rape victims define their experiences, rationalize their decisions to bring these
crimes to the attention of the authorities, and designing interventions to change the rate
of reporting.

Authors’ Note
The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to
be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Department of the Army or the Department
of Defense.

Acknowledgments
We express our appreciation to the women who participated in this project as well as the prison
administrators and staff. We also recognize Lyn McArthur, Shilo Smith, Galatia Cepeda, Norma
Boyd, Erin McGlade, Aaron Paugh, and Michelle Stewart for their contributions to the research
team as well as Samantha Chesney for her editorial service.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by the Faculty Research Committee,
College of Arts and Sciences, and Office of Research of Idaho State University.

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1076 Violence Against Women 19(9)

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Author Biographies
Nicole M. Heath, PhD, is presently an assistant professor of psychology in the Department of
Behavioral Sciences at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. She earned her doctorate
from Idaho State University and completed a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Traumatic
Stress Center at Rush, where her clinical and research experiences have focused on women with
interpersonal violence histories. More recently, she has begun investigating pathways through
which physical and sexual assault impact obstetric/gynecological health outcomes. She is also
involved in conducting treatment outcome research to improve violence survivors’ mental
health, pelvic/sexual health, and postpartum outcomes.
Shannon M. Lynch, PhD, is a full professor at Idaho State University and a licensed clinical
psychologist. Her research combines quantitative and qualitative methodologies to examine
women’s experiences of interpersonal violence and use of resources to cope with and to recover
from traumatic events. Most recently, she has been assessing women’s pathways to jail, and
incarcerated women’s trauma exposure, mental health, and treatment needs. Dr. Lynch com-
pleted her doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Michigan in 1999 and a 2-year
postdoctoral fellowship with the Victims of Violence Program, part of Cambridge Health
Alliance/Harvard Medical School.
April M. Fritch, PhD, is an active duty United States Army psychologist who is presently
completing a postdoctoral fellowship in Neuropsychology at Tripler Army Medical Center,
Honolulu, Hawaii. She earned her PhD in clinical psychology at Idaho State University in
Pocatello, Idaho, and completed an internship at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma,
Washington. Following her training, she was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq with the 98th Combat
Stress Control Detachment providing prevention and outpatient treatment for Service Members.
Her research interests include military psychology, women’s health, with a particular interest in
women in the military and military trauma-related problems.
Maria M. Wong, PhD, is a developmental psychologist, full professor, and the director of the
Program in Experimental Psychology at Idaho State University, where she teaches undergradu-
ate and graduate courses in child development, adolescent development, testing and measure-
ment, and advanced statistics. Since completing postdoctoral work in developmental psychopa-
thology, her research focuses on factors that influence resilience and adaptive functioning in
children and adults, particularly the relationships among sleep problems, substance abuse, and
self-regulation. Her work has been funded by research grants from the National Institute of
Health. She was named an Outstanding Researcher in 2009 and 2011 at Idaho State University.

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