Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

To date a “victim”: testing the stigma of the victim label through an experimental audit of dating apps

  • Published:
Journal of Experimental Criminology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

Publicly revealing prior victimization could produce negative reactions and could affect a self-identified victim’s initiation of romantic relationships.

Methods

To measure victim stigma, an experimental audit design used six study profiles, each with pictures of a Black, Latinx, or White cisgender female or cis-male and bio text that in the experimental condition included a briefstatement of prior victimization, to compare match rates of profiles disclosing prior victimization with identical profiles not disclosing victimization.

Results

Disclosing victimization reduced total matches for all profiles regardless of sex or race. Racial congruence analyses of matches indicated that relative to the White control profile, all other study profiles were more likely to match with dating app users of a different race/ethnicity, except for the White male victim profile.

Conclusions

The stigma of the victim label may discourage people from disclosing their prior victimization. Racial congruence findings suggests that victim stigma may differ across different racial and ethnic groups.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Prior violence prevention literature broadly uses dated sex/gender language (“male” instead of “man”) so accurate citation of that research results in some conflation of the language.

  2. Victimization here is operationalized as a harmful act imposed on individuals by another person, group of people, institutional policy or practice, or structural or environmental harm (Holstein and Miller 1990).

  3. The IRB required the PI to write to staff of each of the six dating apps used in this study to inform them about the study and seek their approval to conduct it. Because no app developers responded, the IRB prohibited the research team from disclosing apps used for this study.

  4. Bonferroni correction involves dividing the alpha level (p = .05) by the number of analyses (11) to increase the threshold for determining significance (Bonferroni correct p = .005).

References

  • Backus, F. R., & Mahalik, J. R. (2011). The masculinity of Mr. Right: Feminist identity and heterosexual women’s ideal romantic partners. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35(2), 318–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bartoi, M. G., & Kinder, B. N. (1998). Effects of child and adult sexual abuse on adult sexuality. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 24(2), 75–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogen, K. W., Bleiweiss, K., & Orchowski, L. M. (2019). Sexual violence is #NotOkay: Social reactions to disclosures of sexual victimization on twitter. Psychology of Violence, 9(1), 127–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, L. P., Murad, M. H., Paras, M. L., Colbenson, K. M., Sattler, A. L., Goranson, E. N., Elamin, M. B, RSeime, R. J., Shinozaki, G., Prokop, L. J., & Zirakzadeh, A. (2010). Sexual abuse and lifetime diagnosis of psychiatric disorders: Systematic review and meta-analysis. In Mayo clinic proceedings, 85(7), 618–629.

  • Chiricos, T., Barrick, K., Bales, W., & Bontrager, S. (2007). The labeling of convicted felons and its consequences for recidivism. Criminology, 45(3), 547–581.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, P. (2009). Abused men: The hidden side of domestic violence (2nd ed.). Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cozzarelli, C., Wilkinson, A. V., & Tagler, M. J. (2001)s. Attitudes toward the poor and attributions for poverty. Journal of Social Issues, 57(2), 207–227.

  • Crocker, J., Major, B. & Steele, C. M. (1998). Social stigma. (In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology, vol. 2 (pp. 504–553) New York: Oxford University Press.)

  • Crowe, A., & Murray, C. E. (2015). Stigma from professional helpers toward survivors of intimate partner violence. Partner Abuse, 6(2), 157–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demers, J. M., K. Ward, S., Walsh, W. A., L. Banyard, V., Cohn, E. S., Edwards, K. M., & Moynihan, M. M. (2018). Disclosure on campus: Students’ decisions to tell others about unwanted sexual experiences, intimate partner violence, and stalking. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 27(1), 54-75.

  • Dignan, J. (2005). Understanding victims and restorative justice. Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, J. L. (2005). Victims” and “survivors”: Emerging vocabularies of motive for “battered women who stay. Sociological Inquiry, 75, 1–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dworkin, E. R. (2020). Risk for mental disorders associated with sexual assault: A meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 21(5), 1011–1028.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eagly, A. H. & Wood, W. (2012). Social role theory. In P. A. M. Van Lange, A. W. Kruglanski, & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Theories of social psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 458-477). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

  • Eaton, A. A., & Rose, S. (2011). Has dating become more egalitarian? A 35 year review using sex roles. Sex Roles, 64(11–12), 843–862.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, K. M., Ullman, S. E., Waterman, E. A., & Dardis, C. M. (2020). Predictors of disclosure recipients’ social reactions to victims’ disclosures of dating and sexual violence: A longitudinal study of college students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 0886260520938511.

  • Evans, D. N. (2019). Full disclosure: Experimental analysis of female online dating on parole. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 15(2), 179–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, D. N. & Blount-Hill, K. L. (2020). Swipe right?: Experimental analyses of app-based dating in the age of criminal stigma. Corrections (in press) https://doi.org/10.1080/23774657.2020.1799726

  • Evans, D. N., & Vega, A. (2021). Experimental analysis of male online dating on parole. Journal of Crime and Justice, 44(1), 33–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faulkner, S. L. (2003). Good girl or flirt girl: Latinas’ definitions of sex and sexual relationships. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 25(2), 174–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Filipas, H. H., & Ullman, S. E. (2001). Social reactions to sexual assault victims from various support sources. Violence and Victims, 16(6), 673–692.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fohring, S. (2018). What’s in a word? Victims on ‘victim.’ International Review of Victimology, 24(2), 151–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ford, K. A. (2012). Thugs, nice guys, and players: Black college women’s partner preferences and relationship expectations. Black Women, Gender + Families, 6 (1), 23–42.

  • Gaddis, S. M. (2018). An introduction to audit studies in the social sciences. (In S. M. Gadis (Ed.), Audit studies: Behind the scenes with theory, method, and nuance (pp. 3–44). New York: Springer.)

  • Gravelin, C. R., Biernat, M., & Bucher, C. E. (2019). Blaming the victim of acquaintance rape: Individual, situational, and sociocultural factors. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02422

  • Grubb, A., & Turner, E. (2012). Attribution of blame in rape cases: A review of the impact of rape myth acceptance, gender role conformity and substance use on victim blaming. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17(5), 443–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, R. M., Lorenz, K., & Bell, K. A. (2013). Victim blaming others. Feminist Criminology, 8(3), 202–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herbert, T. B., & Dunkel-Schetter, C. (1992). Negative social reactions to victims: An overview of responses and their determinants. (In L. Montada, S. H. Filipp, & M. J. Lerner (Eds.), Life crises and experiences of loss in adulthood (p. 497–518). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.)

  • Hill, D. B. (2006). “Feminine” heterosexual men: Subverting heteropatriarchal sexual scripts? The Journal of Men’s Studies, 14(2), 145–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holstein, J. A., & Miller, G. (1990). Rethinking victimization: An interactional approach to victimology. Symbolic Interaction, 13(1), 103–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard, J. A. (1984). The “normal” victim: The effects of gender stereotypes on reactions to victims. Social Psychology Quarterly, 47(3), 270–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janoff-Bulman, R., Timko, C., & Carli, L. (1985). Cognitive biases in blaming the victim. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 21, 161–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joseph, J., & Jergenson, S. (Eds.). (2020). An international perspective on contemporary developments in victimology. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lemert, E. (1972). Human deviance, social problems and social control (2nd ed.). Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, M. J. (1965). Evaluation of performance as a function of performer’s reward and attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1, 355–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, M. J., & Miller, D. T. (1978). Just world research and the attribution process: Looking back and ahead. Psychological Bulletin, 85(5), 1030–1051.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, M. J., & Simmons, C. H. (1966). Observer’s reaction to the “innocent victim”: Compassion or rejection? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4(2), 203–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyons, C. J. (2006). Stigma or sympathy? Attributions of fault to hate crime victims and offenders. Social Psychology Quarterly, 69(1), 39–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madriz, E. I. (1997). Images of criminals and victims: A study on women’s fear and social control. Gender & Society, 11(3), 342–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mittal, D., Sullivan, G., Chekuri, L., Allee, E., & Corrigan, P. W. (2012). Empirical studies of self-stigma reduction strategies: A critical review of the literature. Psychiatric Services, 63(10), 974–981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mood, C. (2010). Logistic regression: Why we cannot do what we think we can do, and what we can do about it. European Sociological Review, 26(1), 67–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, R. E. & Truman, J. L. (2021). Criminal victimization, 2020. Washington, DC: National Crime Victimization Survey, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved Jan. 4, 2022 from https://bjs.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh236/files/media/document/cv20.pdf

  • Mustillo, S. A., Lizardo, O. A., & McVeigh, R. M. (2018). Editors’ comment: A few guidelines for quantitative submissions. American Sociological Review, 83(6), 1281–1283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orchowski, L. M., Untied, A. S., & Gidycz, C. A. (2013). Social reactions to disclosure of sexual victimization and adjustment among survivors of sexual assault. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28(10), 2005–2023.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ovenden, G. (2012). Young women’s management of victim and survivor identities. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 14(8), 941–954.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pager, D. (2003). The mark of a criminal record. American Journal of Sociology, 108(5), 937–975.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinn, D. M., Williams, M. K., Quintana, F., Gaskins, J. L., Overstreet, N. M., Pishori, A., Earnshaw, V. A., Perez, G., & Chaudoir, S. R. (2014). Examining effects of anticipated stigma, centrality, salience, internalization, and outness on psychological distress for people with concealable stigmatized identities. PLoS ONE, 9(5), 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reinhart, A. (2015). Statistics done wrong: The woefully complete guide. No Starch Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schafer, S. (1974). The beginnings of victimology. (In I. Drapkin & E. Viano (Eds.), Victimology (pp. 17–30). Lexington, MA: Lexington.)

  • Scott, J. E. (2016). The perception and management of criminal stigma: An examination of stigma’s differential impact on parolees and probationers. Dissertation, Indiana University, Bloomington.

  • Smith, E. R., Byrne, D., & Fielding, P. J. (1995). Interpersonal attraction as a function of extreme gender role adherence. Personal Relationships, 2(2), 161–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sprankle, E., Bloomquist, K., Butcher, C., Gleason, N., & Schaefer, Z. (2018). The role of sex work stigma in victim blaming and empathy of sexual assault survivors. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 15(3), 242–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suarez, E., & Gadalla, T. M. (2010). Stop blaming the victim: A meta-analysis on rape myths. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25(11), 2010–2035.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ullman, S. E. (1999). Social support and recovery from sexual assault: A review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 4(3), 343–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ullman, S. E. (2010). Talking about sexual assault: Society’s response to survivors. American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ullman, S. E., & Filipas, H. H. (2001). Predictors of PTSD symptom severity and social reactions in sexual assault victims. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 14, 369–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ullman, S. E., & Siegel, J. M. (1995). Sexual assault, social reactions, and physical health. Women’s Health: Research on Gender, Behavior, and Policy, 1, 289–308.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valor-Segura, I., Expósito, F., & Moya, M. (2011). Victim blaming and exoneration of the perpetrator in domestic violence: The role of beliefs in a just world and ambivalent sexism. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 14(1), 195–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Bruggen, M., & Grubb, A. (2014). A review of the literature relating to rape victim blaming: An analysis of the impact of observer and victim characteristics on attribution of blame in rape cases. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 19(5), 523–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, D. M. (2007). It’s a m-a-n thang”: Black male gender role socialization and the performance of masculinity in love relationships. The Journal of Pan African Studies, 1(7), 11–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westfall, R. S., Millar, M. G., & Lovitt, A. (2019). The influence of physical attractiveness on belief in a just world. Psychological Reports, 122(2), 536–549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfgang, M. E. (1967). Victim precipitated criminal homicide. (In M. E. Wolfgang (Ed.), Studies in homicide (p. 72–87). New York, NY: Harper & Row.)

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Fairleigh Dickinson University, 1000 River Road, Robsion Annex 302, Teaneck, NJ, 07666, USA

    Douglas N. Evans

  2. Sociology and Criminal Justice Department, Saint Joseph’s University, 5600 City Ave, Post Hall 133, Philadelphia, PA, 19131, USA

    Chunrye Kim

  3. New Jersey State Parole Board, P.O. Box 862, Trenton, NJ, 08625-0862, USA

    Nicole M. Sachs

Authors
  1. Douglas N. Evans
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chunrye Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nicole M. Sachs
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Douglas N. Evans.

Additional information

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Evans, D.N., Kim, C. & Sachs, N.M. To date a “victim”: testing the stigma of the victim label through an experimental audit of dating apps. J Exp Criminol 19, 615–633 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-022-09500-6

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-022-09500-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation