The role of sexual scripts in sexual aggression and victimization.

Two longitudinal studies examined German adolescents' sexual scripts in relation to the normative acceptance of sexual aggression, the behavioral enactment of risk factors, and the experience of sexual aggression/victimization. Study 1 comprised a sample of 283 10th and 11th grade high school students who completed measures of sexual scripts, normative acceptance of risk elements associated with sexual aggression, behavioral risk-taking, and normative acceptance of sexual aggression in relationships twice with a nine-month interval. General and individual scripts differed significantly in terms of the prevalence of risk elements, with individual scripts containing fewer risk elements. Normative acceptance of risk elements was linked to the enactment of risky behavior in sexual interactions and also to the normative acceptance of sexual aggression, both concurrently and over time. In Study 2, 232 12th and 13th grade students completed measures of sexual scripts and of sexual aggression or sexual victimization. Higher risk scores in the individual scripts were predictive of sexual aggression among boys and sexual victimization among girls. The findings were discussed in terms of the significance of sexual scripts as guidelines for sexual behavior.