Validation of AMMSA Scale in Mexican University Students

Sexual assault is one of the most widespread psychosocial problems in today's societies. In particular, sexual assault myths are a series of underlying beliefs and attitudes that promote, justify and normalize sexual aggression. Due to their impact and importance, it is necessary to measure these myths through instruments with adequate evidence of construct validity. Therefore, the present research has two main objectives: (a) obtaining evidence of construct validity of the aspect of internal structure and relationship with other variables; and (b) measuring the degree of acceptance of sexual assault myths among university students in Northern Mexico. Among the findings, the following stand out: (a) high values in internal structure indices, (b) high and significant correlation between AMMSA scores with scales measuring similar constructs, (c) a first-order three-factor structure for the measurement of sexual aggression myths, and (d) significant differences between the mean scores of male and female university students.