Emotion Regulation Interventions for Alcohol-Related Sexual Aggression

Rates of sexual assault are alarmingly high, and alcohol is consistently implicated in the
majority of these assaults. Despite well-intentioned prevention efforts, this pandemic
continues unabated, warranting the development of novel and innovative approaches to the
reduction of sexual aggression. The goal of this research is to evaluate the efficacy of two
brief online emotion regulation interventions for reducing alcohol-related sexual aggression
in heavy episodic drinking young men with a sexual aggression history. Previous research
suggests that emotion regulation difficulties are associated with both alcohol consumption
and aggressive behavior. Despite the potential prevention utility of improving sexually
aggressive men's emotion regulation skills in order to reduce their alcohol-related sexual
aggression, this approach has yet to be explored. Thus, this study evaluates the effects of
two brief online ER interventions - cognitive restructuring and mindfulness - on men's
emotion regulation during a sexual aggression-related analogue. Additionally, these effects
will be evaluated during both sober and intoxicated states through a laboratory- based
alcohol administration experiment.