[Relations Between Rape Myths and Behavioral and Personality Characteristics in Males Convicted of Rape].

OBJECTIVE: To date the relationships between rape myths and other psychological constructs within males who have committed rape have not been explored sufficiently. Considered as a risk factor for the perpetration of rape it seems significant to examine their association to individual behavioral and personality characteristics more in detail.

METHODS: Therefore, we analyzed the relations between self-reported rape myth acceptance and the self-evaluation of aggressiveness, assertiveness, hypersexuality, social anxiety, sexual anxiety, SCID personality characteristics and the external assessment of psychopathy within a sample of N=569 males convicted of rape.

RESULTS: The results showed significant correlations with all constructs except sexual anxiety, antisocial personality and psychopathy. Furthermore, findings indicated the assignment of the relevant variables to two principal components: rape myths, aggressiveness, hypersexuality, paranoid and narcissistic personality (K1) on the one hand and psychopathy and antisocial personality (K2) on the other hand.

DISCUSSION: Following the results, rape myths are contextualized within the investigated psychological constructs and their potential differentiation from psychopathy and antisocial personality is discussed.