03/25/2021
By Joseph Gonzales

The College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, invites you to attend a doctoral dissertation defense by Melissa M. Pope on “Shades of Gray: Evaluating the Reliability and Validity of Three Measures of Sexual-Consent Related Beliefs and Behaviors.”

Candidate Name: Melissa M. Pope
Degree: Doctoral degree in Applied Psychology and Prevention Science
Defense Date: Friday, April 9, 2021
Time: 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time
Location: Virtual Meeting via Zoom (please contact Melissa_Pope@uml.edu or Joseph_Gonzales@uml.edu for a link to attend)
Thesis/Dissertation Title: Shades of Gray: Evaluating the Reliability and Validity of Three Measures of Sexual-Consent Related Beliefs and Behaviors

Committee Advisor: Joseph E. Gonzales, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Committee Members:

  • Stephanie D. Block, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Chris T. Allen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychological Science, Kennesaw State University

Brief Abstract:
Sexual violence is a major problem in the United States; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that about 45% of women and 25% of men will be the victims of contact sexual violence during their lifetimes. Consent is the primary factor in defining sexual violence. As such, improving understanding of sexual consent is a key element of many sexual violence prevention programs, especially those implemented on college campuses. Measuring prevention program participants’ attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors related to sexual consent is essential for evaluating the efficacy of these programs, yet there is no well-established measure of sexual consent available. This dissertation examines the reliability and validity of three previously-developed survey measures of sexual consent in three key ways. First, their factor structure and measurement invariance between men and women are evaluated. Second, their association with rape myth acceptance, a commonly used proxy measure for sexual violence proclivity, is tested. Third, their utility as predictors of consent choices are examined in an exploratory study using a novel, interactive, narrative paradigm. Together, these three studies provide evidence for the reliability and validity (or lack thereof) of these measures of sexual consent. This evidence is important for researchers seeking to investigate sexual consent, whether their goal is to understand people’s beliefs about consent; how people express consent; or to evaluate the efficacy of an intervention for changing consent attitudes and behaviors.