The Acceptance of Myths About Cyber-Sexual Violence (AMCYS) Scale is a 10-item measure assessing acceptance of myths that justify or minimize cyber-sexual violence against women. Developed in Spanish and English, it captures attitudes reflecting (cyber)rape culture. Items cover 4 content areas: 1) minimization/conceptualization, 2) victim blaming, 3) diffuse online context and 4) exonerating the perpetrator's responsibility.
Geographies Tested: Spain,United States of America
Populations Included: Female, Male
Age Range: Adults
1. If a woman has a public profile on social media, she must be aware that she is exposed to receiving sexual innuendo from strangers.
2. Many women lie when reporting that they suffered sexual harassment on social media.
3. It must be noted that many men don’t realize the negative consequences it can have for a woman to receive unwanted sexual content material through social media.
4. Some women seek to receive sexual comments in their social media publications to improve their self-esteem.
5. When a sexual video of a woman is published without her consent, society gives exaggerated support to the victim and forgets that the man also suffers from this.
6. Instead of worrying about women who receive a ‘dick pic', society should pay more attention to the real victims of sexual assault.
7. Women are not guilty when a sexual photo or video of them is circulated online, but they are responsible for sharing the material with their partner or flirt.
8. Much of the sexual innuendo directed to women online is a result of the website in which they interact.
9. If an unattractive man comments on the physical appearance of a woman in social media, it is perceived as harassment, but if the man is attractive the comment is received as a compliment.
10. If platforms censored sexually suggestive images of women on social media, women would not receive obscene comments and insults.
Response Options:
7-point Likert scale:
Totally Disagree - 1
Totally Agree - 7
Calculate the mean of the 10 items (rated 1 = Totally Disagree to 7 = Totally Agree). All items are scored in the direction of myth acceptance; no reverse coding or weights are used. Higher scores indicate greater acceptance of cyber-sexual violence myths. Items cover the following content areas: minimization/conceptualization (items 2, 5, 6 and 9), victim blaming (items 1, 4 and 7), diffuse online context (items 8 and 10) and exonerating the perpetrator's responsibility (item 3).
Vizcaíno-Cuenca, R., Romero-Sánchez, M., & Carretero-Dios, H. (2025). (Cyber) Rape culture: Development and validation of the Acceptance of Myths About Cyber-Sexual Violence Against Women (AMCYS) Scale in Spanish and English. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 49(2), 277-301. https://doi.org/10.1177/03616843251330248
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