Ce mémoire avait pour but de dresser un portrait clair et exhaustif des facteurs pré-crime recensés au sein d’un échantillon de 37 agresseurs sexuels de femmes. Cette démarche est intimement liée à l’étude des processus de passage à l’acte des agresseurs sexuels. Dans le cadre d’un programme de prévention de la récidive, les participants avaient à identifier divers événements de vie qui sont survenus au cours des deux années précédant le (ou les) délit(s) de référence et qui ont eu un fort impact émotionnel sur eux. Au total, 339 événements de vie ont été recensés. À chaque événement de vie correspond une chaîne comportementale, celle-ci étant composée de six volets : 1) les « situations spécifiques » constituant l’événement de vie; 2) les « cognitions » associées à cet événement de vie; 3) les « émotions » engendrées par ces cognitions; 4) les « fantaisies » déclenchées par ces émotions; 5) les « comportements » adoptés suite à ces fantaisies; et 6) les « conséquences » ayant résulté de ces comportements. Les données, initialement de nature qualitative, ont ensuite été opérationnalisées afin qu’elles puissent être analysées quantitativement. Nos résultats ont démontré que les conflits conjugaux et la consommation d’alcool et/ou de drogues représentaient les situations les plus fréquemment rapportées au cours de la phase pré-crime. Les cognitions les plus souvent recensées suite à l’événement de vie initial étaient le pessimisme et l’adoption d’une position de victime. L’hostilité, la dépression et l’anxiété constituaient les émotions les plus fréquemment engendrées par le volet cognitif. Les fantaisies les plus souvent déclenchées par le volet émotionnel étaient l’agression sexuelle et la violence physique (non sexuelle). La consommation d’alcool et/ou de drogues et le fait de ne pas exprimer ses émotions, son point de vue ou ses besoins représentaient les comportements les plus fréquemment adoptés suite aux fantaisies. Enfin, les conséquences les plus souvent recensées étaient l’accumulation de cognitions et/ou d’émotions négatives et la présence de fantaisies sexuelles déviantes. / The main objective of this master’s thesis was to provide a clear and exhaustive overview of pre-crime factors identified in a sample of 37 convicted rapists. This approach is closely related to the study of pathways to sexual offending. While undergoing a relapse prevention program, the participants had to identify several emotionally significant life events having occurred within a 2-year period preceding the sexual crime(s) for which they have been convicted. A total of 339 life events were collected. For each life event, there is a 6-step behavioral chain: 1) "specific situations" constituting the life event; 2) "cognitions" associated with these specific situations; 3) "emotional states" initiated by these cognitions; 4) "fantasies" triggered by these emotional states; 5) "behaviors" adopted in response to these fantasies and; 6) "consequences" resulting from these behaviors. Qualitative accounts of the behavioural chains were then quantitatively codified so they can be easily analyzed. Our results showed that specific conflicts with the partner and alcohol and/or drug use were the most frequently reported emotionally significant life events having occurred in the pre-crime phase. The most commonly described cognitions associated with the specific life event situations were pessimism and feeling sorry for oneself (self-pity). Hostility, depression and anxiety were the main feelings characterizing the emotional states initiated by the cognitive processes. Sexual aggression and nonsexual violence were the most prevalent fantasies triggered by the emotional states. Alcohol and/or drug use and not expressing one’s emotions, point of view or needs were the most frequently reported behaviors in response to the fantasies. Finally, the main consequences resulting from one’s behaviors were the accumulation of negative cognitions and/or emotions and the presence of deviant sexual fantasies.

Thesis (Ph. D. (Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / The present study investigated the gender moderated relationship between the dark tetrad personality types and sexual behaviours among African university students. Two studies were conducted using conveniently selected samples from two universities in Limpopo, South Africa. Both studies were quantitative in nature using a cross-sectional research design. An integrative theoretical approach was utilized in the conceptualization of the studies, and data was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The first study (N = 261) determined the relationship between the dark tetrad personality types and sexual behaviours conceptualized as infidelity, sexual aggression, and sociosexuality. It was only sadism that had the capacity to predict infidelity and SOI-R desire. Regarding moderation, the results showed that gender only moderates the associations between Machiavellianism and SOI-R behaviour, psychopathy and SOI-R attitude, and sadism and infidelity. The second study (N = 275) examined if the relationship between the Dark Tetrad personality types and socio-sexuality would be mediated by adversarial sexual beliefs (ASB) and ambivalent sexism (benevolent [BS] and hostile sexism [HS]). Results showed that the relationship between sadism and SOI-R behaviour and desire, Machiavellianism and SOI-R behaviour and desire were fully mediated by BS, and the association between sadism and all the SOI-R components, Machiavellianism and all the SOI-R components, and psychopathy and all the SOI-R components were fully mediated ASB. Additionally, gender only moderated the ASB mediated associations between sadism and SOI-R behaviour, and sadism and SOI-R attitude. Ultimately, the study advances recommendations for future studies. / NRF ( National Research Foundation)

A rich diversity of social behaviours exists in the animal kingdom, and these behaviours have evolved to perform a variety of adaptive functions. Social behaviours show variation both among and within species, however the mechanisms that give rise to this variation are not well understood. Using fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), my goal was to uncover the genetic and behavioural mechanisms that underpin natural variation in two different social behaviours: sociability and sexual aggression. First, I showed that sociability, which is the tendency of animals to engage in friendly activities together, is influenced by indirect genetic effects (IGEs), and that encounters among individuals drive these effects (Chapter 2). I then showed that sociability and social plasticity have low-moderate heritability (Chapter 3), and sociability is not correlated between the sexes or with activity. I then generated lineages of flies with high and low sociability using artificial selection (Chapter 4). The evolved lineages had significantly diverged sociability which was not associated with fitness measures or nearest-neighbor distances, but was negatively correlated with intrasexual aggression (Chapter 4). Finally, in sexual aggression, which I quantified as male forced copulation rate, I showed that evolved differences and differences due to social plasticity were both associated with the differential expression of many genes, but only a few of these genes were significant in both (Chapter 5). I also showed that these sets of genes are enriched in neuropeptide hormone and serotonin gene ontology categories, and that 4 of 7 chosen genes were validated for their effects on sexual aggression. Overall, this thesis sheds light on the complex mechanisms that underlie variation in these social behaviours, and it paves the way for future research to further elucidate some of these mechanisms, especially on the genetic basis of sociability using the evolved lineages I generated. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Individual animals tend to vary in many traits including social behaviours. Using fruit flies, my goal was to understand what causes individuals to vary in two social behaviours: sociability and sexual aggression. I found that highly sociable flies tended to influence other flies to become more sociable due to a change in how much these flies interacted. I also found that individual differences in sociability are moderately heritable, and the genetic variation contributing to this is different between the sexes. Also, less sociable flies tended to be more aggressive than highly sociable flies. Finally, for sexual aggression, I showed that variation in a male’s success in forcibly mating with a female was associated with changes in the expression of hundreds of genes, but these changes were mostly unique for evolved versus environmentally induced variation. Future work will similarly look to identify genes involved with individual differences in sociability.

Les célibataires involontaires (Incel) sont une communauté d’hommes qui ont commencé à attirer une attention scientifique, avec des démonstrations empiriques de propos misogynes, et des théorisations émergentes d’un parallèle entre les situations d’incels et les violences sexuelles animées par griefs. La présente étude vise ainsi donc en premier lieu à examiner si effectivement un célibat involontaire est lié autant à la solitude (autant comme caractéristique d’un célibat involontaire, mais aussi comme antécédent fréquent de crimes sexuels) et des attitudes soutenant des agressions sexuelles, mais elle vise aussi à voir si une situation de célibat involontaire, la solitude et des cognitions soutenant les agressions sexuelles sont reliées à des comportements d’agressions sexuelles. Un questionnaire sollicitant des hommes adultes à la recherche d’une relation amoureuse (N = 814), certains d’entre eux (61.5%) s’identifiant comme incel, a été conduit en ligne. Les analyses ont montré que l’endossement d’idées incels, de cognitions soutenant les agressions sexuelles et la solitude étaient reliés à l’autodéclaration d’avoir commis une agression sexuelle par le passé, et que la solitude en plus de certaines cognitions soutenant les agressions sexuelles étaient associées avec l’inclinaison à commettre une agression sexuelle dans le futur, mais l’endossement d’idées incel n’était pas relié à l’inclinaison à commettre une agression sexuelle dans le futur. Ces conclusions suggèrent que des recherches subséquentes sont nécessaires pour mieux comprendre la relation entre les situations de célibat involontaire et les violences sexuelles, et les implications que ceci aurait dans les secteurs d’intervention primaire, secondaire et tertiaire. / Involuntary celibates (Incels) are an online community of men that have begun to draw scientific attention, with some empirical demonstration of misogynistic views, and emerging theorization observing parallels between their situation and grievance-fueled sexual violence. The present study therefore firstly aimed to examine whether indeed inceldom is linked to both loneliness (as a hypothesized characteristic of inceldom as well as a frequent antecedent to sexual offending) and rape-supportive attitudes, and secondly, to see whether inceldom, loneliness and rape-supportive cognitions are related to behavioral outcomes of sexual aggression. A survey of adult men seeking romantic relationships (N = 814), some of whom (61.5%) identifying as incels, was conducted online. Regression analyses showed that regardless of incel self-identification the endorsement of incel ideas, rape-supportive cognitions and loneliness were related to self-disclosed previous sexual aggression, and that loneliness and some but not all rape-supportive cognitions were associated with inclination towards committing future sexual aggression, but endorsement of incel ideas was not related to inclination towards future sexual aggression. These findings suggest that further research is needed to better understand the relationship between inceldom and sexual violence and the implications that this would have for primary, secondary and tertiary interventions.

Ce mémoire vise à identifier des profils au sein des processus de passage à l’acte d’agresseurs sexuels de femmes en tenant compte des facteurs prédisposants (deux ans avant le délit) et précipitants (48 heures avant le délit) à l’agression sexuelle. Les facteurs précrime composant le cycle délictuel sont internes et externes à l’agresseur. Notre échantillon est composé de 37 agresseurs sexuels de femmes. Dans le cadre d’un programme de prévention de la récidive, les participants ont identifié l’enchaînement d’éléments découlant d’évènements de vie importants, qui constitue une chaîne comportementale incluant six composantes : 1) évènements de vie ; 2) cognitions ; 3) émotions ; 4) fantaisies ; 5) comportements ; et 6) conséquences. L’ensemble des chaînes comportementales rapportées par un participant compose son cycle délictuel. Nous avons analysé ces cycles délictuels selon une méthode qualitative exploratoire afin de distinguer des similitudes et des divergences entre les participants. Nos résultats ont permis d’identifier trois profils de cycle délictuel : 1) axé sur la sexualité ; 2) axé sur l’antisocialité ; et 3) mixte. La dimension sexuelle se divise également en deux sous-groupes : 1) sexualité déviante ; et 2) sexualité déviante et/ou désinhibée. Les participants au cycle délictuel axé sur la sexualité (n = 17) rapportent des perceptions négatives d’autrui et de la vie, lesquelles sont principalement associées à de l’hostilité et des émotions négatives (ex.: dépression, anxiété). Les agresseurs présentant un cycle délictuel axé sur l’antisocialité (n = 6) rapportent, entre autres, des perceptions négatives de soi, d’autrui et de la vie, et ce, combinées à une valorisation de la déviance. Les émotions associées étaient généralement d’hostilité et négatives. Les délinquants sexuels ayant un cycle délictuel mixte rapportent, entre autres, des perceptions négatives d’autrui et de la vie ainsi qu’une valorisation de la déviance. Une combinaison d’hostilité et d’émotions négatives, ou d’hostilité, d’émotions négatives et positives, découlait de ces cognitions. / The aim of this thesis is to investigate offending process profiles amongst sexual aggressors of women which integrate predisposing factors (two years prior to the offence) and precipitating factors (48 hours prior to the offence). Precrime factors included in offence cycles are internal and external to sexual aggressors. Thirty-seven convicted sex offenders who participated in a relapse prevention group are included in this study. Participants identified important life events. The sequence following these events forms a behavioural chain, which includes: 1) life events; 2) cognitions; 3) emotions; 4) fantasies; 5) behaviours; and 6) consequences. The series of behavioural chains reported by each participant shape his offending process. Offending processes were analyzed based on a qualitative exploratory method to put forward similarities and differences amongst participants. Results suggest three main offending-process profiles: 1) sexuality-oriented; 2) crime-oriented; and 3) mixed (sexuality and crime-oriented). The sexual dimension encompasses two sub-groups: 1) sexual deviance; and 2) deviant and/or disinhibited sexuality. Sexuality-oriented offenders (n = 17) had negative views of others and of life in general, which were associated mainly with hostility and negative emotions (e.g. depression, anxiety). Crime-oriented offenders (n = 6) had various cognitions, including negative views of themselves, of others, and of life in general, as well as cognitions supporting deviance. Following emotions were mainly hostile and negative. Mixed-profile offenders had various cognitions, including negative views of others and of life in general, as well as cognitions supporting deviance. A combination of hostility and negative emotions, or hostility, negative, and positive emotions followed.

Ce mémoire consiste en une reproduction et une extension du Modèle Confluent de l’Agression Sexuelle (MCAS) de Neil Malamuth. Le MCAS est un des seuls modèles développementaux de l’agression sexuelle d’hommes sur des femmes adultes à avoir été validé empiriquement. Dans ce modèle, deux trajectoires (la promiscuité sexuelle et la masculinité hostile) convergent et mènent à l’agression sexuelle. Pour la première fois, ce modèle est appliqué séparément à quatre paramètres de la carrière criminelle sexuelle (gravité, fréquence, précocité, spécialisation) au sein d’un échantillon d’agresseurs sexuels de femmes adultes judiciarisés (n=180). Les quatre modèles qui en résultent s’ajustent bien aux données. Tous les liens postulés dans le MCAS sont validés dans ce mémoire, à une exception. En effet, contrairement aux résultats obtenus par Malamuth, une seule des deux trajectoires du modèle présente un lien significatif avec chacun des paramètres de la carrière criminelle sexuelle à l’étude. La trajectoire de la promiscuité sexuelle est liée à la précocité et à la non-spécialisation (lien négatif avec la spécialisation) alors que la trajectoire de la masculinité hostile est associée à la gravité et à la fréquence. Ces résultats sont congruents avec une approche typologique des agresseurs sexuels de femmes adultes. Chacune des deux trajectoires du MCAS englobe des caractéristiques spécifiques à certains types de violeurs (opportunistes, colériques, sadiques) qui, pour leur part, se distinguent quant aux paramètres de leur carrière criminelle sexuelle. / The purpose of this thesis is to replicate and extend Malamuth’s Confluence Model of Sexual Aggression (CMSA). The CMSA is one of the few empirically validated developmental models of men’s sexual aggression against women. In this model, sexual aggression is resulting from the convergence of two paths (sexual promiscuity and hostile masculinity). For the first time, in this thesis, the CMSA is applied to four parameters of the sexual criminal career (seriousness, frequency, age of onset, specialization) within a sample of convicted rapists (n=180). Each of the four resulting models yielded a good fit of the data. All but one of the relationships hypothesized in the CMSA were replicated in this thesis. Indeed, our results suggest that only one of the CMSA’s paths is related to each of the sexual criminal career parameters tested in this thesis. The sexual promiscuity path is related to age of onset and non-specialization (sexual promiscuity being negatively related to specialization) while the hostile masculinity path is related to seriousness and frequency. Our results are congruent with a typological approach of rapists. Each of the two CMSA’s paths is operationalized using some specific characteristics which are known to be linked to certain types of rapists (opportunistic, angry, sadistic types). In turn, those types of rapists present distinctive relationships to the sexual criminal career parameters investigated in this thesis.

This thesis deals with the current issue of discrimination in the workplace, especially focuses on discrimination based on age and sex, sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace, legislation that regulates the area of discrimination in labor relations. The theoretical section includes explanations of terms and connections to a given focus and the practical part includes a probe into five large companies examining whether the effects mentioned in the theoretical part actually occur in practice, or how these problems are solved. This probe was in the form of semi-structured interview respondents in their workplaces. The results confirmed the claim that one of the most vulnerable group are women. Larger companies are trying to provide them a variety of advantages as for example flexible-time work, etc. Some companies have confirmed that there were some cases of bullying or sexual harassment in their firm, but these situations have not been solved other than by the dismissal of one of the participants. However, the occurrence of age discrimination was in the surveyed companies not confirmed - despite the theoretical claims and personal experience. It also showed that the respondents, HR professionals from large companies, have a poor conception of the possible solutions of those situations and...

Ce mémoire consiste en une reproduction et une extension du Modèle Confluent de l’Agression Sexuelle (MCAS) de Neil Malamuth. Le MCAS est un des seuls modèles développementaux de l’agression sexuelle d’hommes sur des femmes adultes à avoir été validé empiriquement. Dans ce modèle, deux trajectoires (la promiscuité sexuelle et la masculinité hostile) convergent et mènent à l’agression sexuelle. Pour la première fois, ce modèle est appliqué séparément à quatre paramètres de la carrière criminelle sexuelle (gravité, fréquence, précocité, spécialisation) au sein d’un échantillon d’agresseurs sexuels de femmes adultes judiciarisés (n=180). Les quatre modèles qui en résultent s’ajustent bien aux données. Tous les liens postulés dans le MCAS sont validés dans ce mémoire, à une exception. En effet, contrairement aux résultats obtenus par Malamuth, une seule des deux trajectoires du modèle présente un lien significatif avec chacun des paramètres de la carrière criminelle sexuelle à l’étude. La trajectoire de la promiscuité sexuelle est liée à la précocité et à la non-spécialisation (lien négatif avec la spécialisation) alors que la trajectoire de la masculinité hostile est associée à la gravité et à la fréquence. Ces résultats sont congruents avec une approche typologique des agresseurs sexuels de femmes adultes. Chacune des deux trajectoires du MCAS englobe des caractéristiques spécifiques à certains types de violeurs (opportunistes, colériques, sadiques) qui, pour leur part, se distinguent quant aux paramètres de leur carrière criminelle sexuelle. / The purpose of this thesis is to replicate and extend Malamuth’s Confluence Model of Sexual Aggression (CMSA). The CMSA is one of the few empirically validated developmental models of men’s sexual aggression against women. In this model, sexual aggression is resulting from the convergence of two paths (sexual promiscuity and hostile masculinity). For the first time, in this thesis, the CMSA is applied to four parameters of the sexual criminal career (seriousness, frequency, age of onset, specialization) within a sample of convicted rapists (n=180). Each of the four resulting models yielded a good fit of the data. All but one of the relationships hypothesized in the CMSA were replicated in this thesis. Indeed, our results suggest that only one of the CMSA’s paths is related to each of the sexual criminal career parameters tested in this thesis. The sexual promiscuity path is related to age of onset and non-specialization (sexual promiscuity being negatively related to specialization) while the hostile masculinity path is related to seriousness and frequency. Our results are congruent with a typological approach of rapists. Each of the two CMSA’s paths is operationalized using some specific characteristics which are known to be linked to certain types of rapists (opportunistic, angry, sadistic types). In turn, those types of rapists present distinctive relationships to the sexual criminal career parameters investigated in this thesis.

Alcohol consumption among college students is a well-established phenomenon, as is the observation that they often do not abide by safe consumption practices. Of particular concern is the association between college students’ heavy drinking practices, reduced understanding and practice of sexual consent, and sexual aggression (e.g., coercion, unwanted physical contact, or rape). The aim of this study was to expand the current literature by assessing the degree to which college students’ self report of no, low/moderate, and heavy alcohol consumption was associated with (1) self reports of experiencing or committing sexually aggressive behavior, and (2) their understanding of what constitutes sexual consent between individuals. Understanding these issues may assist with the development of future prevention programs aimed at reducing the link between college students’ consumption of alcohol and risky sexual behaviors.