Maria Testa

University at Buffalo, State University of New York | SUNY Buffalo · Department of Psychology

Objective: Sexual assault (SA) is unfortunately common in U.S. college campuses. Friends are central to the social context of college women, and thus to the context of SA, and thus may play a key role in SA prevention. The objective of the present study was to provide a preliminary test of a novel friend-based motivational intervention (FMI) that...

Background: Sociosexuality-attitudes, behaviors, and desires related to casual sex-partly predicts drinking behavior in both men and women because drinking is thought to facilitate interactions that lead to casual sex. It follows that sociosexuality would predict drinking intake (e.g., quantity consumed)-but perhaps not drinking consequences (e.g.,...

Objective: The present study examined the independent and joint effects of bullying victimization and sexual harassment victimization on adolescent alcohol use over time within a community sample of adolescents. Method: Adolescents aged 13–15 years old at baseline (N = 800, Mage = 14.42, SD = 0.83; 57.5% female) recruited from Western New York Stat...

Verbal sexual coercion (VSC) and rape are common experiences among college women. Although they have been theorized to involve different risk markers, few prospective studies have examined predictors of VSC and rape separately. The present prospective study was designed to identify precollege risk markers for VSC and rape in first-year college wome...

Heavy episodic drinking (HED) and hookups are risk factors for college women's sexual assault (SA). Black women engage in these behaviors less frequently than White women. We prospectively examined HED and hookups as mechanisms of incapacitated SA (ISA) and other SA (OSA) risks for Black and White first-year college women and sociocontextual factor...

It is well established that young adults' drinking is positively associated with sexual activity with new partners. While pharmacologic effects of alcohol (e.g., impaired sexual decision-making) can contribute to sexual activity with new partners, the context in which alcohol is consumed may also be important. We tested the hypothesis that drinking...

Research on alcohol and sexual assault has increased greatly in quantity and sophistication since the association between the two was first recognized. Using my personal experience of 30 years of sexual assault research as a frame, I trace the development of important breakthroughs and insights in understanding alcohol-related sexual assault. Among...

Sexual harassment is a common, yet understudied form of peer victimization experienced by adolescents during a critical period in the development of sexual identity. Adverse sexual experiences early in life (e.g., child sexual abuse) can increase risk of future sexual assault victimization; however, it is unclear as to whether sexual harassment vic...

The short-term consequences of drinking events may be positive or negative. Most studies have considered only one outcome, but people may experience different alcohol outcomes on different occasions, depending on the circumstances. The present study sought to identify predictors of drinking events that resulted in couple intimacy, conflict, or neit...

Introduction Peer sexual harassment is associated with adolescent substance use at the global level; however, it is unknown whether substance use occurs proximal in time to the sexual harassment experience. This study used daily reports to examine the proximal relations between sexual harassment victimization and affect and substance use. Based on...

Objective: Alcohol use is an established risk factor for intimate partner aggression (IPA); however, few studies have considered whether couple drinking episodes increase the short-term likelihood of IPA episodes. The present ecological momentary assessment study considered the temporal effects of alcohol consumption on IPA perpetration and victim...

Awareness of vulnerability to a negative outcome is considered a necessary first step to risk reduction and prevention behaviors. Accordingly, sexual assault awareness programs have sought to inform college students of the prevalence of college sexual victimization and the risk factors that contribute. The goal of the current study was to consider...

Alcohol consumption is common in married/cohabiting couples, and many studies have attempted to understand its effects on their behavior patterns. Traditionally, those evaluations have been done through questionnaires and self-reports. While these approaches have unique contributions, they cannot track instantaneous behavioral changes, such as when...

Researchers have only recently recognized the paucity of research on sexual minority samples and the need to diversify research samples. However, recruiting sexual minority samples of sufficient size to allow for adequate statistical power can be challenging, particularly when the goal is to compare heterosexual with sexual minority subsamples. We...

Objective: Couples with concordant drinking patterns have higher relationship satisfaction and greater relationship stability over time. Emerging evidence suggests that episodes of drinking with one's intimate partner can have positive immediate consequences for relationship functioning, whereas drinking episodes without partner do not. The presen...

Schizotypy and its associated features—negative schizotypy, disorganization, and positive schizotypy—are correlated with increased cannabis use. Yet, it is unclear whether cannabis users with schizotypy are at greater risk of developing cannabis problems. Individuals with elevated schizotypy may be particularly vulnerable to cannabis problems. It i...

Sexual assault is an unfortunately common experience among women in college campuses. This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to gain a better understanding of the contextual determinants of sexual assault among college women. EMA reports inquired about sexual assault experiences, risky sex (sex without a condom and regretted hookups)...

Sexual victimization (SV) risk can begin in social contexts, ones where friends are present, though it is unclear how friends might be integrated into SV prevention. Using focus groups, female college drinkers described (a) the role of friends in preventing SV, (b) the strategies friends use to reduce vulnerability, and (c) the barriers to implemen...

Objective: The desire for many novel, concurrent, uncommitted sex partners (i.e., unrestricted sociosexuality) may encourage individuals to seek out contexts that facilitate casual sex. We tested a model in which the effects of sociosexuality on sex with new partners were mediated via drinking in specific contexts. We hypothesized that drinking at...

Objective This study assessed whether college women who bring their own alcohol to parties (BYOB) are less vulnerable to sexual victimization (SV). Participants: Participants were 652 female freshmen (M age = 18.04 years) at a large, public university. Methods: Women were recruited by email to complete online surveys of their drinking-related behav...

Intimate relationship functioning depends upon the ability to accommodate one's partner and to inhibit retaliatory and aggressive impulses when disagreements arise. However, accommodation and inhibition may be difficult when self‐control strength is weak or depleted by prior exertion of self‐control. The present study considered whether state self‐...

Sexual activity, including hooking up, increases college women’s vulnerability to sexual victimization. Reducing hookups may reduce rates of sexual victimization among this vulnerable population. Because college students overestimate how frequently their peers hook up, correcting their misperceptions may lead to more accurate perceived social norms...

Objective: The desire for many novel, concurrent, uncommitted, sex partners (i.e., unrestricted sociosexuality) may encourage individuals to seek out contexts that facilitate casual sex. We tested a model in which the effects of sociosexuality on sex with new partners were mediated via drinking in specific contexts. We hypothesized that drinking at...

Adolescent involvement in bullying as a victim or perpetrator has been associated with negative health outcomes, including emotional distress and substance use. Whether negative affect and substance use are acute responses to bullying involvement or whether they develop over time is unknown. Such knowledge is needed to understand the conditions und...

Objective: Although research has documented harms associated with drinking within intimate relationships, there is evidence that some drinking patterns-characterized by congruent or shared partner drinking-may be associated with positive relationship functioning. The present dyadic daily diary study allowed us to consider whether congruent drinkin...

The first semester of college is marked by increases in both heavy episodic drinking and sexual activity, including hookups. Because drinking and casual sex are highly related and college students believe that drinking settings facilitate hookups, students may drink as a way of facilitating uncommitted sexual partnerships. In 2 samples of college f...

Heavy episodic drinking (HED) and hookups increase college women's vulnerability to sexual victimization. We examined whether the effect of HED on first year college sexual victimization severity was mediated via hookups, that is, casual sexual encounters between individuals not in a relationship. We also tested the hypothesis that greater sexual l...

Several theories posit that cannabis and other substances are used to reduce negative affect. This daily report study considered whether variations in positive and negative affect, reported each morning, contributed to the likelihood of cannabis use later that day. We also explored whether levels of positive and negative affect reported immediately...

Objective: College men's alcohol consumption is positively associated with sexual aggression perpetration, yet men's drinking does not typically predict later sexual assault after accounting for risk factors, such as impersonal sexuality. In the present study, we tested an indirect effects model whereby college men's impersonal sex orientation and...

Although marijuana use has been linked to negative consequences for intimate relationships, an emerging literature suggests that under some circumstances it may have positive consequences. Couples who use substances together report better relationship functioning over time and may experience positive short-term outcomes. Using a sample of 183 heter...

Diagnosis of mental illness (MI) inconsistently predicts aggressive behavior although co-occurrence of substance use appears to increase the frequency of aggression in MI populations. We propose that alcohol use should moderate the relationship between mental disorders marked by deficits in self-control and aggression and victimization. In the pres...

The question of how individual differences related to self-regulation interact with alcohol use patterns to predict intimate partner aggression (IPA) is examined. We hypothesized that excessive drinking will be related to partner aggression among those who have low self-regulation. In addition, we explored the extent to which differences in self-re...

Background: Among college students, interpersonal conflict with others is a common, yet stressful negative interpersonal experience. Research suggests that drinking episodes may contribute to the occurrence of conflict. Marijuana use, independently or in conjunction with alcohol, may also influence the likelihood of subsequent conflict. Objective...

Objective: Although patterns of marijuana use are positively associated with intimate partner aggression, there is little evidence that episodes of marijuana use contribute to the occurrence of episodes of relationship conflict and aggression. The present ecological momentary assessment study considered the temporal relationship between marijuana...

Intimate couples with discrepant use of alcohol and other drugs experience poorer relationship functioning relative to couples with concordant use or nonuse. Within a sample of marijuana-using couples, we hypothesized that greater discrepancy in marijuana use frequency between partners would be associated with lower relationship satisfaction and pe...

Objective: Men's alcohol use has been linked to sexual assault perpetration. Yet, it is unknown whether within naturally-occurring sexual encounters men use more sexually aggressive tactics when they are intoxicated. The present study considered whether college men's perceived intoxication at the time of sex increased their self-reported use of ve...

Acute alcohol use appears to exert a small but significant effect on female perpetrated aggression in the laboratory but there has been no effort to evaluate comprehensively the situational moderators of this relationship. This preliminary review was intended to explore the moderating effects of provocation and target gender on alcohol-related aggr...

Objective: The Circle of Six (Co6) phone application (app), winner of the White House's Apps Against Abuse Challenge, seeks to incorporate friends into sexual victimization (SV) risk reduction. Despite its growing presence on college campuses, the feasibility/acceptability of the app to college women is unknown. This mixed methods study sought to...

Intimate partner aggression among community couples has been conceptualized as representing an occasional, situationally provoked response to a conflict. Yet, relatively few studies have considered the situational factors that contribute to the occurrence of an aggressive episode. The present study used thematic analysis to understand how episodes...

Objective: Survey studies provide evidence that experiencing intimate partner aggression (IPA) contributes to subsequent alcohol use. However, it is unknown whether the increase in alcohol use over time reflects a temporal effect of IPA. We examined verbal and physical IPA as predictors of alcohol use and heavy drinking within the next few hours....

Experimental research on alcohol-related aggression has focused largely upon male participants, providing only a limited understanding of the proximal effects of acute alcohol use on aggression among females extrapolated from the male literature. The current meta-analysis was undertaken to summarize the effects of alcohol, compared to placebo or no...

Objective: The current longitudinal study was designed to consider the time-varying effects of men's heavy episodic drinking (HED) and drinking setting attendance on college sexual assault perpetration. Method: Freshman men (N = 992) were recruited in their first semester and completed online measures at the end of their first five semesters. Us...

Individuals who are unhappy in their intimate partnerships are at risk for developing alcohol problems. But little is known about the mechanisms underlying this link. One possibility is that couples with poor relationship quality gain more reinforcement from alcohol in certain contexts—a possibility that has never previously been empirically examin...

Self-reported marijuana use has been associated with poor relationship functioning and decreased stability over time. The present study examined the behavioral interactions of couples with concordant and discordant patterns of marijuana use during conflict, using individual self-reports and observation by independent coders. Heavy drinking communit...

Impulsivity is negatively associated with relationship satisfaction, but whether relationship functioning is harmed or helped when both partners are high in impulsivity is unclear. The influence of impulsivity might be exacerbated (the Volatility Hypothesis) or reversed (the Compatibility Hypothesis). Alternatively, discrepancies in impulsivity mig...

Survey and experimental analog studies suggest that alcohol consumption contributes to perpetration of sexual aggression. However, few studies have considered the temporal association between naturally occurring episodes of drinking and subsequent sexual aggression. This daily report study was designed to examine whether alcohol consumption increas...

This study examines whether use of alcohol at first coitus is associated with increased sexual risk for young women. First coitus is the focus of the investigation because it is a memorable, formative experience that has implications for subsequent sexual health. A community sample of young women ages 18–19 years (N = 227) completed retrospective i...

The current meta-analytic review examined the experimental literature to quantify the causal effect of acute alcohol consumption on self-reported and observed indicators of male-to-female general, sexual, and intimate partner aggression. Database and reference list searches yielded 22 studies conducted between 1981 and 2014 that met all criteria fo...

Marijuana users are more likely to perpetrate intimate partner aggression (IPA) than non-users, yet the mechanism responsible for this association is unknown. Recent studies considering the association between episodes of marijuana use and episodes of IPA have failed to find evidence consistent with an acute effect of marijuana. Research gaps are h...

Objective: Using an iterative process, a series of three video scenarios were developed for use as a standardized measure for assessing women's perception of risks for alcohol-related sexual assault (SA). The videos included ambiguous and clear behavioral and environmental risk cues. Method: Focus group discussions with young, female heavy drink...

An emerging literature suggests that temporary deficits in the ability to inhibit impulsive urges may be proximally associated with intimate partner aggression. The current study examined the experience of alcohol use and the depletion of self-control in the prediction of relationship functioning. Daily diary data collected from 118 heterosexual co...

Objective: The present study was designed to provide a comparison of rates of self-reported sexual aggression perpetration obtained using two different measures - a version of the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES; Abbey et al, 2007; Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987) and the Sexual Strategies Scale (SSS, Strang, et al, 2013; Struckman-Johnson, Struck...

Objective: Agreement within couples regarding the occurrence of aggression is surprisingly low. Survey research often collapses across partners' reports to create a pooled estimate of aggression in the relationship. This method ignores possible differences in partners' perceptions of the event, potentially weakening researchers' ability to detect...

Anger is an empirically established precipitant to aggressive responding toward intimate partners. The current investigation examined the effects of anger, as experienced by both partners, as well as gender and previous aggression, on in vivo intimate-partner aggression (IPA) using a prospective daily diary methodology. Participants (N = 118 couple...

Objective: Although couples' alcohol use has been associated with intimate partner aggression and poorer marital functioning, few studies have examined the proximal effects of alcohol on couple interactions. The current experimental study examined the effects of alcohol, administered independently to male and female intimate partners, on positive...

Objective: Research shows that drinking with one's partner in romantic relationships is associated with positive relationship functioning (e.g., increased intimacy), whereas drinking apart from one's partner is associated with negative relationship functioning (e.g., increased negative behaviors/events). Relationship-specific alcohol expectancies...

Deficits in several aspects of executive cognitive functioning (ECF) have been consistently associated with alcohol use disorders. Most of this research, however, has been conducted in alcohol dependent patient samples. A handful of recent studies, primarily in college students, have also reported similar deficits, but little is known about the eff...

Alcohol use has been associated with intimate partner aggression perpetration and victimization; however, much of the evidence is based on survey research. Few studies have addressed the proximal effects of drinking episodes on the subsequent occurrence of partner aggression. The current study used daily diary methodology to consider the daily and...

Experimentation with alcohol and sexuality is a normative aspect of adolescent development. Yet both present distinct risks to adolescent females and are especially problematic when they intersect. Although youth are often cautioned about the dangers associated with having sex and using alcohol, popular entertainment media frequently depict the com...

n t r o d u c t I o n Use of alcohol during adolescence places girls at risk for a variety of adverse outcomes, the most serious of which include alcohol abuse, dating violence victimization, sexual assault and suicidal ideation (Eaton et al., 2007; Raghaven et al., 2004; Windle et al., 2008). The potential for adolescents to experience serious con...

Men's heavy drinking has been established as a risk factor for their perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV); however, the role of women's drinking in their perpetration of IPV is less clear. The current study examined the relative strength of husbands' and wives' alcohol use and alcohol dependence symptoms on the occurrence and frequency o...

The current study examined the natural trajectories of alcohol use among women as they transitioned from high school to college, considering changes in drinking for students at initially different levels of drinking. We examined the hypothesis that the association between college drinking and sexual victimization would be stronger for women with le...

Cross-sectional and longitudinal predictors of mutual and nonmutual intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration were identified in a sample of female college freshmen (N = 499). Using female reports, couples were classified as to whether the relationship included no IPV, female-only IPV, or mutual IPV (male-only IPV was too rare to analyze). Mutua...

Previous research suggests that women's early sexual victimization experiences may influence their parenting behaviors and increase the vulnerability of their children to being sexually victimized. The current study considered whether mother's sexual victimization experiences, in childhood and after age 14, were associated with the sexual victimiza...

A mixed methods approach, combining quantitative with qualitative data methods and analysis, offers a promising means of advancing the study of violence. Integrating semi-structured interviews and qualitative analysis into a quantitative program of research on women's sexual victimization has resulted in valuable scientific insight and generation o...

The current study examined whether permitting young women to drink alcohol at home during senior year of high school reduces the risk of heavy drinking in college. Participants were 449 college-bound female high school seniors, recruited at the end of their senior year. Participants were classified into one of three permissibility categories accord...

Despite growing evidence that the marital problems typically attributed to heavy drinking are stronger for couples in which only one partner is a heavy drinker than in couples in which both partners are heavy drinkers, relatively little research has examined factors that may serve to maintain particular drinking configurations. The current research...

Women who experience sexual victimization, whether in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood, are at elevated risk of sexual revictimization. The mechanism responsible for this robust association is unclear, however. The present study proposed and tested a prospective, mediated model that posited that the association between adolescent and college vi...

A randomized controlled trial, using parent-based intervention (PBI) was designed to reduce the incidence of alcohol-involved sexual victimization among first-year college students. The PBI, adapted from Turrisi et al. (2001), was designed to increase alcohol-specific and general communication between mother and daughter. Female graduating high sch...

The study examined the impact of precollege drinking intentions on college heavy episodic drinking (HED) in a sample of women making the transition from high school to college. We hypothesized that the effects of drinking intentions on college first and second semester HED would be mediated by first semester social norms and drinking pressure. High...

Recently, incapacitated rape has emerged as a distinct type of sexual victimization. However, little is known about its longer-term psychological consequences. Two studies compare the psychological consequences of incapacitated rape to those of forcible rape and verbal coercion. Generally, the traumatic impact of incapacitated rape was intermediate...

We sought to investigate independent contributions of risky sexual behaviors and bleeding caused by intimate partner violence to prediction of HCV infection. We conducted a case-control study of risk factors among patients of a sexually transmitted disease clinic with and without HCV antibodies, group-matched by age. Multivariate analyses indicated...

Before effective prevention interventions can be developed, it is necessary to identify the mechanisms that contribute to the targeted negative outcomes. A review of the literature on women's substance use and sexual victimization points to women's heavy episodic drinking as a proximal risk factor, particularly among college samples. At least half...

An experimental study examined whether judgments about a rape victim can be influenced by the social reactions of others, and whether this effect would be moderated by the type of rape (stranger or date rape) or by the gender of the participants. One hundred and ten U.S. college students (90% white; 59% female) responded to rape vignettes in which...

This study explored females' adolescent experiences with sexual aggression, using event-level data. A community sample of women, ages 18-30 years (N = 319), were interviewed regarding their most recent unwanted sexual experience. Incidents were categorized as occurring during adolescence (ages 14-17) or adulthood (after age 18). Preliminary statist...

Although rape and sexual victimization experiences have been hypothesized to contribute to subsequent heavy drinking and alcohol problems among women, little prospective evidence exists. The present prospective study examined whether sexual victimization contributes to subsequent heavy drinking among a community sample of women, 18-30 years of age...

The Sexual Experiences Survey (SES) assesses victimization and perpetration of unwanted sexual experiences (e.g., Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987). Revised versions of the SES that resulted from the work of the SES Collaboration are now available. This article reviews weaknesses of the SES that were identified, strengths that were preserved, and m...

Low sexual assertiveness has been proposed as a possible mechanism through which sexual revictimization occurs, yet evidence for this has been mixed. In this study, prospective path analysis was used to examine the relationship between sexual refusal assertiveness and sexual victimization over time among a community sample of women. Results provide...

Although behavioral risk factors such as substance use have been hypothesized to increase women's vulnerability to sexual victimization, prospective studies provide mixed empirical support. In the current prospective study, the authors considered substance use, sexual activity, and sexual assertiveness as predictors of sexual victimization from int...

Two studies, based on an alcohol myopia model, were designed to understand the role of women's alcohol consumption on vulnerability to sexual assault. We predicted that, in a high- conflict social situation, alcohol would make it more difficult to recognize sexual assault risk, lowering intentions to resist sexual advances. In Study 1, women (N = 5...

The current study was designed to gain a better understanding of the nature of the relationship between substance use and sexual risk taking within a community sample of women (N = 1,004). Using confirmatory factor analysis, the authors examined the factor structure of sexual risk behaviors and substance use to determine whether they are best conce...

This article summarizes a symposium organized and cochaired by Maria Testa and presented at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism, in Santa Barbara, California. The symposium explored issues relevant to understanding the function of placebo conditions and to interpreting placebo effects. Cochair Mark Fillmore began with an o...