Predicting the use of sexual initiation tactics in a sample of college women

Significant attention has been focused on women's initiation of sexual contact with men and the point at which this initiation becomes sexual aggression. The purpose of this study was to examine possible predictors of the use of three conceptually distinct sets of sexual initiation tactics: seduction, coercion, and force. Relationships between women's personal characteristics, future expectancies about sex and relationships, the ‘rehearsal behavior' of telephone calling patterns in adolescence, sexual self-esteem, past abuse, and past sexual abuse were related to measures of women's sexual initiation and aggression. Survey respondents were 272, mostly white women students with a mean age of 26 years. A complex relationship emerged between predictor and outcome variables. Social learning theory is utilized to interpret the findings and recommend future research directions.