Title from title page of PDF (University of Missouri--St. Louis, viewed March 2, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 84-105).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Texas, Dec., 2009. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Central Florida, 2010. / Adviser: Jana Jasinski. Includes bibliographical references (p. 48-52).

Previous research indicates that survivors of sexual assault often blame themselves for the assault. Research has also shown that people blame the perpetrator in some situations and the survivor in other situations involving sexual assault. The purpose of this study was to discover if survivors of sexual assault who blame themselves tend to blame other survivors (survivor blame) in situations different from their own. Another purpose was to assess whether or not sexual assault survivors who do not blame themselves for their attack tend to blame other survivors. The participants' attributional style was also assessed in order to understand the relations between self-blame and survivor blame in situations involving sexual assault. Findings indicated that certain types of attributional style are related to self-blame in sexual assault survivors and blame toward sexual assault survivors depicted in vignettes. This indicates that attributional style may have important implications in the clinical setting to aid sexual assault survivors who experience self-blame, as well in educating society about sexual assault and the ultimate responsibility of perpetrators.

The current case involves a female rape victim. Research has shown the level of victim blaming can be elevated if the victim is a lesbian woman compared to a heterosexual woman. Mock jurors’ responses to personality trait questionnaires (e.g., Belief in a Just World, Attitudes Toward Women, Attitudes Toward Lesbians) and amount of contact they have with homosexual people were employed as predictors of how they would decide victim blaming and perpetrator guilt. Personality trait findings were not good predictors; however, greater contact with homosexuals did decrease negative attitudes toward lesbian victims. Limitations and implications for future research are addressed.