ISSN 2520-6265 (print)
ISSN 2520-6273 (online)
Authors:
T. Yu. Zavada, PhD in Psychology,
Associate Professor of the Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy,
Ukrainian Catholic University
ORCID: 0000-0001-9745-2772
E-mail: zavada_t@ucu.edu.ua
K. H. Obluchynska-Shabazova, Assistant of the Department of Clinical Psychology with elements of CBT,
Ukrainian Catholic University
ORCID: 0009-0009-8843-4922
E-mail: kristina.bohdanova@ucu.edu.ua
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/upj.2025.1(23).5
Article Information
Issue: 1(23) 2025, pages: 101-128
Language: English
Received: 01.05.2025
1st Revision: 09.05.2025
Accepted: 16.05.2025
The study of myths about sexual aggression is an important social issue closely related to violence against women, as such beliefs serve to deny, minimize, or justify sexual violence. The aim of this study was to adapt the Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression (AMMSA) scale for a Ukrainian-speaking sample and to evaluate its psychometric properties.
The empirical study involved 610 participants (474 women, 136 men) aged between 18 and 60 years. The AMMSA-UA scale demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.931; McDonald’s omega coefficient = 0.929) and good test-retest reliability (r = 0.70 after four weeks). Regarding the factor structure, although the parallel analysis suggested a seven-factor model, the improved unidimensional model, after correcting the residual covariances, showed good fit indices (χ²/df = 1.9; RMSEA = 0.049; CFI = 0.936). Convergent validity was confirmed by significant positive correlations with ambivalent sexism (r = 0.587) and beliefs in symbolic resistance by women against sex (r = 0.862). It was found that men demonstrated a higher level of acceptance of myths about sexual aggression compared to women, and a higher level of education correlated with lower acceptance of these myths.
Overall, the Ukrainian study successfully adapted the AMMSA, demonstrating its high reliability and validity for measuring modern myths about sexual aggression in Ukraine. This adaptation is an important contribution to understanding gender biases and can serve as a foundation for development and evaluation of sexual violence prevention programs.
Key words: sexual aggression myths, AMMSA-UA, scale adaptation, psychometric properties, gender bias.
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