The Cognitive-Affective Model of Sexual Consent Communication

Abstract

Sexual consent communication involves direct, unambiguous communication about willingness to participate in sexual encounters; promoting this form of communication is important to reducing sexual coercion and promoting the quality of sexual relationships. The present studies introduce and evaluate the Cognitive-Affective Model of Sexual Consent Communication, which is proposed to identify intrapersonal precursors (i.e., attachment insecurity) and mechanisms (i.e., perspective-taking, emotion dysregulation, experiential avoidance) that influence how adequately people communicate sexual consent. The model also indicates that these factors predict sexual consent motivations, an important precursor to the decision to enact affirmative consent behaviours.

In Study 1 (N = 153), I examined the associations between core constructs of the model for people in current sexual relationships, finding that attachment, perspective-taking skill, and emotion regulation skill are associated with consent motivations and consent communication behaviours in existing sexual relationships. Study 2 included the piloting of a novel, vignette-based measure of sexual consent communication behaviour (Study 2a; N = 97), and testing of the key mediational pathways in a sample of single adults with this measure (Study 2b; N = 173). Results indicated support for the cognitive pathway of the model, but did not support the role of experiential avoidance in predicting consent motivations/behaviour. Finally, Study 3 (N = 212) tested the effects of a brief psychoeducational perspective-taking intervention on participants’ sexual consent motivations and behaviours. Outcome variables were assessed using the same vignette measure as Study 2, but participant responses were audio-recorded to extract more information about the emotional tone of consent communication. The intervention did not produce changes in consent communication behaviour relative to control, but sexual consent motivations were higher following the intervention for the subset of participants who reported low attachment avoidance. Taken together, the results of these studies illustrate the importance of moving beyond skills instruction to incorporate psychological traits and skills in consent education. Furthermore, the current research sheds light on the potential benefits of reducing perceived emotional threat in consent communication while enhancing perceptions of consent as rewarding and beneficial.