The circumvention of female reproductive choice via rape is a costly and evolutionarily persistent threat to women’s reproductive fitness. This is argued to have generated selection pressure for a precautionary threat management system for rape avoidance among women. Such a system would regulate women’s fear of rape as a functional emotional response to inputs providing information about the current risk and reproductive cost of rape. Fear of rape is expected to subsequently motivate adaptive behavior to avoid threats to one’s reproductive choice. The current research tested key tenets of this proposed system and found that women report greater fear of rape as a function of characteristics that alter the likelihood of being victimized, including being younger, living in a neighborhood perceived as dangerous, living in close proximity to family, and having been the victim of a sexual assault in the past. We also discuss mixed and null results with respect to the role of relationship status and mate value. In turn, fear of rape was associated with behavior expected to reduce one’s risk of being victimized. Specifically, women who were more fearful of rape reported consuming true crime media with greater frequency and indicated that this consumption was specifically motivated by the desire to learn strategies to prevent or escape an attack. Overall, results were fairly consistent with a threat management system approach and may help to explain why fear of rape is a powerful feature of women’s psychology.

通过强奸来规避女性生殖选择是对女性生殖健康的一种代价高昂且在进化上持续存在的威胁。有人认为，这为避免女性强奸的预防性威胁管理系统产生了选择压力。这样的系统将调节女性对强奸的恐惧，作为对提供有关当前强奸风险和生殖成本信息的输入的功能性情绪反应。预计对强奸的恐惧随后会激发适应性行为，以避免对一个人的生殖选择造成威胁。目前的研究测试了这一提议系统的关键原则，发现女性报告更害怕强奸是一种改变受害可能性的特征的函数，包括更年轻、住在被认为危险的社区、住在离家人很近的地方, 并且过去曾是性侵犯的受害者。我们还讨论了关于关系状态和配偶价值的作用的混合和空结果。反过来，对强奸的恐惧与预期会降低受害风险的行为有关。具体来说，更害怕强奸的女性报告说，更频繁地使用真实的犯罪媒体，并表示这种消费的具体动机是希望学习预防或逃避攻击的策略。总体而言，结果与威胁管理系统方法相当一致，可能有助于解释为什么害怕强奸是女性心理的一个强大特征。对强奸的恐惧与预期会降低受害风险的行为有关。具体来说，更害怕强奸的女性报告说，更频繁地使用真实的犯罪媒体，并表示这种消费的具体动机是希望学习预防或逃避攻击的策略。总体而言，结果与威胁管理系统方法相当一致，可能有助于解释为什么害怕强奸是女性心理的一个强大特征。对强奸的恐惧与预期会降低受害风险的行为有关。具体来说，更害怕强奸的女性报告说，更频繁地使用真实的犯罪媒体，并表示这种消费的具体动机是希望学习预防或逃避攻击的策略。总体而言，结果与威胁管理系统方法相当一致，可能有助于解释为什么害怕强奸是女性心理的一个重要特征。