An examination of the Confluence Model (CM) of risk for sexual aggression

Abstract

Sexual aggression (SA) is recognized as a global public health problem. A better understanding of its explanatory mechanisms is essential to be able to generate effective preventive strategies. Among the theoretical models that have attempted to explain SA, the Confluence Model of Sexual Aggression (CM), which has been tested in numerous samples of men from the general population, stands out. Since no reviews have been found that analyze the available evidence on the CM, this work aims to review the studies that tested it in samples of adult males in the general population and to analyze their results. Following the PRISMA-P protocol, 17 studies published between 1986 and 2020 were identified that tested the CM. The bibliometric analysis showed that the productivity of the CM tends to focus on a few authors, mainly from English-speaking countries. Overall, the CM appears to be a robust model for explaining SA in adult males in the general and university populations. The main postulates of the CM are fulfilled in most of the studies analyzed, although the interaction between the principal constructs has been poorly tested. Also, the CM is flexible in incorporating contextual variables relevant to SA. The recent emergence of studies in Asia and Europe may suggest that cross-cultural comparison of the model is a promising area of research. Implications of the findings for future research and SA prevention are discussed.