Module 8: Alcohol
Ch. 4: The Role of Drinking Context
The next reading is on a quite different topic from what we have been reading so far in Module 8. This piece is included here only in part because sexual aggression perpetration is a very important social issue. The other major reason why it is included here is because it makes a strong case for drinking contexts having a great deal to do with drinking outcomes, perhaps even more than drinking dose (how much and how fast someone consumes alcohol). We have focused a lot of attention on alcohol as a drug so far, but this chapter addresses cultural and social aspects of alcohol use—reminding us that we cannot really understand the consequences of drinking behavior without understanding the contexts in which it occurs. The most important parts of this piece to attend to are the abstract, introduction, results, and discussion. The piece assigned for this chapter is Testa, M., & Cleveland, M.J. (2017). Does alcohol contribute to college men’s sexual assault perpetration? Between- and within-person effects over five semesters. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 78(1), 5-13.
In this chapter, you will read about:
- evidence concerning heavy episodic drinking (HED) and sexual aggression
- the role of drinking context (parties and bars) in sexual aggression
- the role of personality characteristics in sexual aggression and drinking behavior
- key terms related to alcohol misuse and sexual aggression
Click here for a link to our Carmen course where you can locate the assigned pdf file(s) for this chapter. You will need to be logged into our Carmen course, select Module 8, and proceed to the Coursework area. Under the Readings heading you will find a box with links to the readings for relevant coursebook chapters. Don’t forget to return here in your coursebook to complete the remaining chapters and interactive activities.
- What is the “alcohol myopia model”?
- Which is more important in predicting sexual assault perpetration: whether a man has been drinking heavily or the place/context where the drinking occurs? Which contexts are the “riskiest” in terms of predicting sexual assault perpetration—in other words, are there “hot spots” for sexual victimization?
- How do alcohol expectancy effects possibly play a role in sexual assault perpetration?
