Date

5-12-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Intimate partner rape (IPR), defined as non-consensual sexual intercourse between domestic partners, has a high prevalence rate especially among women with mental illness, yet it is highly under-convicted. This is often due to a lack of evidence in rape cases resulting in jurors relying on extralegal factors, such as a victim’s mental illness or emotional expression, in their decision making. Jurors may provide lower pro-victim judgments (e.g., guilty verdicts, victim credibility) when a victim has a mental illness, whereas jurors often expect a victim to express emotions, which can increase pro-victim judgments. The present study examined mock juror perceptions of IPR when the victim has a mental illness and expresses emotion during trial. Participants recruited via Prolific (N = 214) were randomly assigned to read one of six conditions in a mock trial summary of IPR in which we manipulated victim mental illness (no mental illness, borderline personality disorder [BPD], or depression) and emotional expression (crying or not crying). Participants then completed a questionnaire in which they provided a verdict, reason for verdict, and victim ratings (e.g., blame). Results indicated that when the victim had BPD compared to no mental illness, participants rendered significantly fewer guilty verdicts. There was also an indirect effect on verdict via victim credibility with the BPD victim having lowered credibility compared to a depressed victim which led to a decrease in guilty verdicts. Participants perceived the victim with BPD as less credible and blamed her more than a depressed victim. Victim emotion interacted with mental illness and participant gender. Male participants had significantly higher rates of victim blame for a victim with BPD who cried versus a victim with BPD who did not cry. Overall, women were more likely to render guilty verdicts, less likely to blame the victim, and more likely to view the victim as credible than men. Findings provide insight into how extralegal factors influence juror perceptions and contribute to low prosecution rates of IPR.

Department

Psychology

Thesis Committee

Dr. Nesa Wasarhaley, Thesis Advisor
Dr. Teresa King, Committee Member
Dr. Laura Ramsey, Committee Member

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