Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Susan L. Rarick

Abstract

Sexual assault and victim blaming are a severe problem. Being sexually assaulted increases the risk of physical and mental health issues for the victims. When the victims are blamed for being sexually assaulted, their physical and mental health issues increase substantially. Many victims do not seek help or support services because of the fear of being blamed. People believe in a just world, and blame the victims because it is more difficult to accept that bad things happen to good people. When people admit that bad things can happen to good people, they acknowledge that these things can happen to them. The purpose of the present study was to discover if there was a relationship between religious beliefs and systems, educational levels, and victim blaming. This study used convenience sampling by recruiting 220 participants via the internet. A two-way ANOVA with a 3 X 4 factorial design was used to explore the data for any relationships or interactions between religious beliefs and systems, educational levels, and victim blaming. This study was done to uncover any relationships or interactions that negatively affected sexual assault victims. The results indicated a significant effect of religiousness on victim blaming attitudes. The higher the religiousness score, the higher the victim blaming attitude score. Discovering what might influence victim blaming can help facilitate effective support for sexual assault victims. Effective support systems can lead to positive social change. Support systems can improve their healing process, or they can lead to more harm. Removing harm and increasing help can have a significant positive effect on their lives and result in positive social change.

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