Sexual victimization is a prevalent problem among college-aged women. In order to investigate the mechanisms underlying sexual victimization, researchers have focused on the role of cognitive processes such as perception of sexual victimization risk, positing that difficulties with risk perception heighten women’s risk for victimization. However, researchers generally have not conceptualized risk perception in the context of a comprehensive cognitive model or utilized tasks and stimuli that allow them to examine specific cognitive processes linked to increased risk for sexual victimization. This review examines the research on sexual victimization risk perception, citing benefits and limitations to the extant literature, and discusses how a promising hybrid approach using cognitive theory and methodology can be applied to this area to better understand women’s risk for sexual victimization.
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