Recent research suggests that perceived economic threat constitutes a valid predictor of people’s attitudes and behaviors. While accumulated empirical evidence has mostly underlined the deleterious psychological effects (e.g., reduced psychological well-being) of perceived economic threat in times of economic strain, we postulate that individuals experiencing higher economic threat linked to the Spanish economic crisis are more prone to engage in other-beneficial prosocial behavior. Across two independently collected community samples, we tested this theoretical formulation and examined the potential mediating roles of empathic concern (Studies 1 & 2) and identification (Study 2). Study 1 (N = 306) revealed that participants who descended in the social scale due to the negative national economic context were engaged in a larger number of helping behaviors over the last three months compared to participants who did not descend the social ladder—independently of several sociodemographic and ideological factors. Moreover, our data indicated these effects were driven by increased empathic concern. Study 2 (N = 588), in which two hypothetical helping-behavior scenarios were randomly administered (crisis-related vs. control), showed that participants under high perceived financial threat exhibited an undifferentiated pattern of prosociality. However, moderated-mediation analyses indicated that empathic concern explained the perceived financial threat-helping behavior link in the hypothetical crisis-related scenario but not in the hypothetical control scenario. Together, these findings extend prior literature on the psychosocial effects of perceived economic threat and the determinants of other-oriented behavior. Implications of these findings and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Purpose: Even though evidence has broadly confirmed that public attitudes toward intervention shape the decision-making process when dealing with IPVAW events, rather less is known about what determines the police decision-making process. Research support that police attitudes toward intervention in IPVAW explain differences when police officers response to IPVAW events. This research analyzes the combined role of IPVAW myths, perceived severity, and IPVAW training in reactive (tolerance for IPVAW and minimal police involvement) and proactive (important police task and pro-arrest) police attitudes toward intervention in gender violence. Methods: Drawing from snowball sampling, we collected responses of 211 Spanish police officers via online subject-recruitment platform. Results: The main findings of our study confirmed that IPVAW myths lead to less proactive attitudes toward intervention both directly and through a reduction in the perceived severity of IPVAW. Importantly, we found a moderating role of IPVAW training, suggesting that the endorsement of IPVAW myths leads to less proactive responses, but only for untrained police officers. Conclusions: Our findings suggest the importance of IPVAW training on police proactive attitudes toward intervention via IPVAW myths instead of perceived severity. Police training programs to both novice and experienced officers should be focused on confronting IPVAW myths in order to improve police perception, evaluation and involvement in gender violence events.

Sexual objectification is a variable to consider for understanding the sexual violence that takes place into intimate context. The set of studies presented here aims to connect sexual objectification phenomena with sexual coercion and explore the consequences that both have on sexual satisfaction. Two studies examined the association between sexual objectification and sexual satisfaction for both views: female target (Study 1) and male perpetrator (Study 2) perspectives. The results of the first study (n = 138 heterosexual women) demonstrated that perceiving partner objectification (but not reporting general sexual objectification victimization) is indirectly linked to a lower sexual satisfaction because of lower rejection and higher sexual coercion rates. The second study (n = 136 heterosexual men) showed the indirect effect of partner objectification and general sexual objectification perpetration on sexual satisfaction after sexual coercion perpetration. Results of both studies demonstrated the negative consequences that sexual objectification has on sexual satisfaction for both male perpetrators and female targets.

Sexual coercion is one of the most subtle manifestations of gender-based violence and may profoundly affect victims’ sexuality. This research analyzed the association of previous experiences of sexual coercion by an intimate partner (intimate partner sexual coercion [IPSC]) with women’s reactions and responses to a scenario of sexual violence. Female college undergraduates (N = 207) completed a computer task in which they watched a video about a couple that ended in a woman having unwanted sex with her male partner. Participants answered several questions about tolerance (risk recognition, risk response, delays in behavioral response, and probability of leaving the relationship). They also responded about their level of commitment to their current partner, as well as their previous experience of sexual coercion. Results showed no differences between victims and nonvictims on the time they took to perceive the situation of sexual violence as threatening (risk recognition). However, victims of current sexual coercion took more time deciding to leave the abusive situation of the video (risk response), required a greater time lag between risk recognition and risk response, and they would be less likely to leave the relationship than victims of past sexual coercion and nonvictims. Finally, commitment predicted later risk recognition and risk response only for victims of past sexual coercion. Overall, the results suggested that previous sexual coercion by an intimate partner and being committed to the relationship may be risk factors associated with the increase of women’s tolerance toward situations involving the risk of sexual victimization.