This study tested whether empathy explains the role of dominance/nurturance in Malamuth's confluence model of sexual aggression, or whether dominance/nurturance contributes unique risk beyond empathy. An online sample of 300 heterosexual men (ages 18–65) was assessed using latent negative binomial regression models comparing three nested structural equation models.
Hostile masculinity and impersonal sexuality consistently predicted higher sexual aggression counts across all models. Empathy was a significant **negative** predictor (b = −0.703 to −0.946; each unit increase in empathy reduced expected aggression rate by ~34%). Dominance/nurturance was **not** a significant predictor at the latent level in any model. Model fit indices (AIC, BIC) favored the empathy-only model. Response surface analysis confirmed a synergistic hostile masculinity × impersonal sexuality effect, driven asymmetrically by hostile masculinity.
- Cross-sectional design prevents causal inference. - Hostile masculinity was operationalized with only one component (hostile sexism toward women); sexual dominance, rape myth acceptance, and adversarial sexual beliefs were excluded. - Sample restricted to heterosexual men; n = 300 may have been underpowered to detect latent interaction effects.
Empathy—not dominance/nurturance—is the key protective factor against sexual aggression in the confluence model; prevention programs should prioritize empathy-enhancing components (e.g., victim perspective-taking) over gender-role-focused interventions. Hostile masculinity and impersonal sexuality remain the primary modifiable risk targets, especially when co-occurring.
Explore related topics
