Sexual Aggression Analogues Used in Alcohol Administration Research: Critical Review of Their Correspondence to Alcohol-Involved Sexual Assaults

Background: Alcohol administration studies are crucial because causal questions about alcohol's role in human behavior can only be answered through experimental research that randomly assigns participants to drink conditions. The primary goal of this review was to catalogue the characteristics of experimental analogues used in alcohol administration research to assess men's sexual aggression proclivity and evaluate the extent to which they represent the scope of alcohol-involved sexual aggression. Although this review focuses on sexual aggression analogues, the identified methodological issues are relevant to a wide range of alcohol administration studies.

Methods: Online databases were searched for published studies that randomly assigned participants to drink conditions and assessed participants' sexual aggression proclivity with an experimental analogue. Characteristics of the analogues were coded by both authors.

Results: Seventeen studies were identified that used 12 unique experimental analogues. All of the analogues depicted a completed or potential sexual assault in an apartment between a male perpetrator and female victim who did not know each other well. This information was presented in written (n = 7), audio (n = 1), video (n = 3), or virtual simulation (n = 1) format. Sexual aggression proclivity was measured through participants' self-reports (n = 10) and behavioral responses (n = 2). Perpetrators primarily used physical force which the woman verbally and physically resisted. Only one analogue depicted behavioral signs of the woman's alcohol impairment; none included signs of the man's alcohol impairment.

Conclusions: These analogues were designed to address important theoretical questions; however, they do not represent the full range of alcohol-involved sexual assaults. This hampers the development of evidence-based prevention and treatment programs because we do not know whether these findings generalize to other types of sexual assaults (e.g., with incapacitated victims, within serious relationships, with sexual and other gender minorities). Funding agencies need to support more alcohol administration research in order to provide a strong foundation for the development of effective interventions.