A new study found that about 43 percent of all teenage boys and young college men are victims of sex or sexual behaviors. This finding can help in the prevention of unwanted sexual advances experienced by men.
Researchers from the University of Missouri, led by Bryana H. French, Ph.D., found that many teenage boys and young college men had an unwanted sexual experience and 95 percent of them reported that the aggressor was a female friend.
In the study, they recruited a total of 284 males in the United States -- 54 teenage boys and 230 young college men -- and asked them to answer questions regarding unwanted sexual encounters. Seven percent of the respondents did it because they were given alcohol or drugs, 18 percent did it due to physical force, 26 percent received unwanted seduction by sexual behaviors and 31 percent admitted that were verbally coerced.
Furthermore, about 50 percent of them ended up having sex, while 10 percent admitted to having an attempt to do it. The remaining 40 percent said that they just kissed, cuddled and fondled.
Researchers said that being forced into having sex was related to risky sexual behaviors and increased alcohol consumption in the victims. However, it seemed not to affect the victim's self-esteem.
"It may be the case that sexual coercion by women doesn't affect males' perceptions in the same way that it does when women are coerced. Instead it may inadvertently be consistent with expectations of masculinity and sexual desire, though more research is needed to better understand this relationship," said French in a press release.
"Seduction was a particularly salient and potentially unique form of coercion for teenage boys and young men when compared to their female counterparts," she added.
This study was published online on March 25 in the APA journal Psychology of Men and Masculinity.
