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Sexual assault incidents among college undergraduates: Prevalence and factors associated with risk
Sexual assault on college campuses is a public health issue. However varying research methodologies (e.g., different sexual assault definitions, measures, assessment timeframes) and low response rates hamper efforts to define the scope of the problem. To illuminate the complexity of campus sexual as...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Public Library of Science
2017
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5695602/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29117226 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186471 |
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author | Mellins, Claude A. Walsh, Kate Sarvet, Aaron L. Wall, Melanie Gilbert, Louisa Santelli, John S. Thompson, Martie Wilson, Patrick A. Khan, Shamus Benson, Stephanie Bah, Karimata Kaufman, Kathy A. Reardon, Leigh Hirsch, Jennifer S. |
author_facet | Mellins, Claude A. Walsh, Kate Sarvet, Aaron L. Wall, Melanie Gilbert, Louisa Santelli, John S. Thompson, Martie Wilson, Patrick A. Khan, Shamus Benson, Stephanie Bah, Karimata Kaufman, Kathy A. Reardon, Leigh Hirsch, Jennifer S. |
author_sort | Mellins, Claude A. |
collection | PubMed |
description | Sexual assault on college campuses is a public health issue. However varying research methodologies (e.g., different sexual assault definitions, measures, assessment timeframes) and low response rates hamper efforts to define the scope of the problem. To illuminate the complexity of campus sexual assault, we collected survey data from a large population-based random sample of undergraduate students from Columbia University and Barnard College in New York City, using evidence based methods to maximize response rates and sample representativeness, and behaviorally specific measures of sexual assault to accurately capture victimization rates. This paper focuses on student experiences of different types of sexual assault victimization, as well as sociodemographic, social, and risk environment correlates. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression were used to estimate prevalences and test associations. Since college entry, 22% of students reported experiencing at least one incident of sexual assault (defined as sexualized touching, attempted penetration [oral, anal, vaginal, other], or completed penetration). Women and gender nonconforming students reported the highest rates (28% and 38%, respectively), although men also reported sexual assault (12.5%). Across types of assault and gender groups, incapacitation due to alcohol and drug use and/or other factors was the perpetration method reported most frequently (> 50%); physical force (particularly for completed penetration in women) and verbal coercion were also commonly reported. Factors associated with increased risk for sexual assault included non-heterosexual identity, difficulty paying for basic necessities, fraternity/sorority membership, participation in more casual sexual encounters (“hook ups”) vs. exclusive/monogamous or no sexual relationships, binge drinking, and experiencing sexual assault before college. High rates of re-victimization during college were reported across gender groups. Our study is consistent with prevalence findings previously reported. Variation in types of assault and methods of perpetration experienced across gender groups highlight the need to develop prevention strategies tailored to specific risk groups. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-5695602 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2017 |
publisher | Public Library of Science |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-56956022017-11-30 Sexual assault incidents among college undergraduates: Prevalence and factors associated with risk Mellins, Claude A. Walsh, Kate Sarvet, Aaron L. Wall, Melanie Gilbert, Louisa Santelli, John S. Thompson, Martie Wilson, Patrick A. Khan, Shamus Benson, Stephanie Bah, Karimata Kaufman, Kathy A. Reardon, Leigh Hirsch, Jennifer S. PLoS One Research Article Sexual assault on college campuses is a public health issue. However varying research methodologies (e.g., different sexual assault definitions, measures, assessment timeframes) and low response rates hamper efforts to define the scope of the problem. To illuminate the complexity of campus sexual assault, we collected survey data from a large population-based random sample of undergraduate students from Columbia University and Barnard College in New York City, using evidence based methods to maximize response rates and sample representativeness, and behaviorally specific measures of sexual assault to accurately capture victimization rates. This paper focuses on student experiences of different types of sexual assault victimization, as well as sociodemographic, social, and risk environment correlates. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression were used to estimate prevalences and test associations. Since college entry, 22% of students reported experiencing at least one incident of sexual assault (defined as sexualized touching, attempted penetration [oral, anal, vaginal, other], or completed penetration). Women and gender nonconforming students reported the highest rates (28% and 38%, respectively), although men also reported sexual assault (12.5%). Across types of assault and gender groups, incapacitation due to alcohol and drug use and/or other factors was the perpetration method reported most frequently (> 50%); physical force (particularly for completed penetration in women) and verbal coercion were also commonly reported. Factors associated with increased risk for sexual assault included non-heterosexual identity, difficulty paying for basic necessities, fraternity/sorority membership, participation in more casual sexual encounters (“hook ups”) vs. exclusive/monogamous or no sexual relationships, binge drinking, and experiencing sexual assault before college. High rates of re-victimization during college were reported across gender groups. Our study is consistent with prevalence findings previously reported. Variation in types of assault and methods of perpetration experienced across gender groups highlight the need to develop prevention strategies tailored to specific risk groups. Public Library of Science 2017-11-08 /pmc/articles/PMC5695602/ /pubmed/29117226 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186471 Text en © 2017 Mellins et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
spellingShingle | Research Article Mellins, Claude A. Walsh, Kate Sarvet, Aaron L. Wall, Melanie Gilbert, Louisa Santelli, John S. Thompson, Martie Wilson, Patrick A. Khan, Shamus Benson, Stephanie Bah, Karimata Kaufman, Kathy A. Reardon, Leigh Hirsch, Jennifer S. Sexual assault incidents among college undergraduates: Prevalence and factors associated with risk |
title | Sexual assault incidents among college undergraduates: Prevalence and factors associated with risk |
title_full | Sexual assault incidents among college undergraduates: Prevalence and factors associated with risk |
title_fullStr | Sexual assault incidents among college undergraduates: Prevalence and factors associated with risk |
title_full_unstemmed | Sexual assault incidents among college undergraduates: Prevalence and factors associated with risk |
title_short | Sexual assault incidents among college undergraduates: Prevalence and factors associated with risk |
title_sort | sexual assault incidents among college undergraduates: prevalence and factors associated with risk |
topic | Research Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5695602/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29117226 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186471 |
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