An Information—Motivation—Behavioural Skills Model of Sexual Consent
Abstract
This dissertation proposed an Information-Motivation-Behavioural Skills (IMB) model of affirmative sexual consent, which is consent that is ongoing, continuous, and clearly communicated. The overall objectives of the current dissertation research were to: 1) elicit — from young, sexually active individuals — information, motivation, and behavioural skills factors that are related to affirmative sexual consent behaviours; 2) develop and empirically test an Information–Motivation–Behavioural Skills (IMB) model of sexual consent and use this to examine the hypothesized relationships of affirmative consent-related information, motivation, and behavioural skills with affirmative consent behaviours; and 3) evaluate the psychometric properties of an IMB scale measuring affirmative consent-related information, motivation, behavioural skills, and behaviours. Three separate studies were conducted to achieve these objectives. Study 1 (N=48) consisted of qualitative elicitation research in a focus group setting to identify information, motivation, and behavioural skills factors that are relevant to expressing and seeking affirmative consent in sexual interactions. The findings of Study 1 elicitation research, in addition to extant research, guided item creation, item selection, and development of measures of sexual consent-related information, motivation, behavioural skills, and behaviour. Study 2 involved expert ratings of the IMB scale items and the administration of these items to a sample of university and community participants (N=624). Based on the results of Study 2, items were retained, deleted, or refined. Study 3 (N=1444) involved administering the final IMB items and individual difference scales to test the measurement and structural models of the IMB model of sexual consent and the scale’s psychometric properties, resulting in a final Information-Motivation-Behavioural Skills/Affirmative Sexual Consent (IMB/ASC) scale. The results of these studies suggest that the IMB model of consent is an excellent fit with the data. This dissertation can provide the basis for empirically-targeted interventions that mobilize sexual consent assets and target sexual consent deficits.