Abstract Approximately half of all sexual assaults involve alcohol consumption by the perpetrator, victim, or both. Self- report surveys conducted with victims and perpetrators have provided valuable information about alcohol's role in sexual assault; however, causality cannot be established from correlational designs. When participants are randomly assigned to drink conditions in laboratory studies, causal conclusions can be made regarding the effects of acute alcohol consumption on behavior. The major challenge for experimentalists is to develop proxies for sexual assault that have strong construct validity and experimental realism. Virtual reality environments (VRE) provide the opportunity for participants to become immersed in the simulated environment; thus, participants are expected to behave in ways and to make choices that closely relate to their behavior outside the laboratory. The goal of the proposed research is to build on the promising findings from the PIs recent R21 grant (AA020876) that developed a dating simulation as a new experimental paradigm for examining alcohol's role in acquaintance sexual assault perpetration committed by men against women. The first specific aim of the proposed research involves enhancing the VR dating simulation based on insights from our empirical findings and new technological developments. The updated simulation will be 3-dimensional, with participants wearing head mounted displays that immerse them in the virtual world with their female companion. Changes will be developed and evaluated in focus groups and cognitive interviews with male and female participants to maximize ecological validity. The second specific aim involves systematically evaluating the impact of situational cues manipulated within the virtual reality environment which are expected to evoke the "in the moment" cognitions and feelings that are hypothesized to increase the likelihood of sexual aggression among men predisposed to be sexually aggressive. The third specific aim involves examining the effects of acute alcohol consumption on men's sexually aggressive responses in the virtual reality simulation. Based on the findings from the studies associated with Specific Aim 2, situational factors will be manipulated resulting in a 2 (alcohol condition: sober vs. intoxicated; target BrAC = .08) X 2 (high or low level of cue that affects participants' perceptions of the woman's sexual interest) X 2 (high or low level of cue that affects participants' sense of entitlement and anger after a refusal) design. Risk factors associated with sexual assault perpetration will be assessed in a separate session and are expected to interact with alcohol and cue conditions, such that intoxicated men who are predisposed to sexual aggression (e.g., high pre-existing levels of hostile masculinity) and exposed to sexual interest and entitlement/anger cues are hypothesized to be most likely to be sexually aggressive. Future studies can alter aspects of the simulation to increase generalizability to different populations. The applicants’ long-term goal is to identify modifiable risk and protective factors that can be used to develop evidence-based prevention and treatment interventions to reduce sexual violence.

Project Narrative Sexual assault occurs at extremely high rates and more than half involve alcohol consumption. The goal of the proposed research is to develop a virtual reality simulation of a potential sexual assault situation and use it in experimental research. This will allow the effects of alcohol consumption on sexual aggression to be examined under controlled conditions, thereby increasing confidence that differences found between drinkers and nondrinkers are due to alcohol, not other factors.