Correlates to Increased Risk of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Among LGBT+ University Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-72
Author(s):  
Donna Scott Tilley ◽  
Ann Kolodetsky ◽  
Damon Cottrell ◽  
Abigail Tilton
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
University Students ◽  
Increased Risk

scholarly journals Pledged into Harm: Sorority and Fraternity Members Face Increased Risk of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa L. Barnes ◽  
◽  
Alexis Adams-Clark ◽  
Marina N. Rosenthal ◽  
Carly P. Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Sexual Exploitation ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Sexual Contact ◽  
Greek Life ◽  
Unique Variance ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Unwanted Sexual Attention ◽  
Alcohol Related Problems

The purpose of this manuscript is to examine the risk of sexual exploitation (both assault and harassment) associated with sorority and fraternity membership on U.S. college campuses. The results from this study come from data collected through an online survey. Participants (N=883) at a large Pacific Northwestern university provided information related to their sorority or fraternity membership, experiences of sexual violence (i.e., assault and harassment), and alcohol use. We both replicated and extended past research. Corroborating prior research, Greek-affiliated students experienced higher rates of sexual assault than non-affiliated students. We extended past research by focusing on sexual harassment experiences within the Greek life culture. Both male and female Greek-affiliated students reported higher rates of sexual harassment particularly unwanted sexual attention, compared to their non-Greek-affiliated peers. We also found that both sorority membership and alcohol-related problems predicted unique variance in women’s exposure to nonconsensual sexual contact, attempted/completed rape, and unwanted sexual attention. Fraternity membership but not alcohol-related problems predicted unique variance in men’s exposure to nonconsensual sexual contact and unwanted sexual attention. Implications discussed include the short- and long-term consequences of Greek-affiliation, institutional betrayal, and addressing sexual exploitation within this culture. Also identified are limitations of the current study and future directions for research on sexual exploitation within Greek life.

Is Women’s Fear of Crime Fear of Sexual Assault? A Test of the Shadow of Sexual Assault Hypothesis in a Sample of Swedish University Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 511-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Mellgren ◽  
Anna-Karin Ivert
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
University Students ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Fear Of Rape ◽  
Shadow Of Sexual Assault

Prior research shows that women’s higher fear of crime compared with men can largely be explained by women’s fear of rape. Whether women’s higher fear can also be explained by fear of nonviolent sexual harassment has not been explored. This study tested the shadow of sexual assault hypothesis in a sample of almost 3,000 Swedish university students. Our results confirm previous tests of the shadow thesis on the effect of fear of rape. In addition, we show that fear of sexual harassment also explained differences in fear between men and women. Based on the findings, we recommend that strategies to reduce sexual violence should focus on the entire continuum of violence against women.

scholarly journals Self-Rated Health and Psychological Distress among Emerging Adults in Italy: A Comparison between Data on University Students, Young Workers and Working Students Collected through the 2005 and 2013 National Health Surveys

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 6403
Author(s):  
Isabella Giulia Franzoi ◽  
Fabrizio D’Ovidio ◽  
Giuseppe Costa ◽  
Angelo d’Errico ◽  
Antonella Granieri
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
University Students ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Lower Risk ◽  
Health Surveys ◽  
Poor General Health ◽  
Working Students ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
National Health Surveys

Background. The present study aimed at comparing self-reported physical health and mental health among university students, workers, and working students aged between 19 years and 29 years. Method. Using data from National Health Surveys held in 2005 and 2013, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 18,612 Italian emerging adults grouped into three groups: university students, workers, and working students. The odds ratios of self-reported anxiety or depression, poor general health, and poor mental health and physical health (as assessed through SF-12) were estimated through logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders. Results. Compared with workers, students showed an increased risk of anxiety or depression and a lower risk of poor general health. Students and working students showed an increased risk of reporting weak mental health compared with that in workers, while students displayed a lower risk of poor physical health. Significant differences were not found between the 2005 and 2013 surveys. Conclusions. These results are of considerable importance for psychologists as well as educational and occupation-based institutions for planning prevention programs and clinical interventions.

Measurement Invariance of the Sexual Assault Script Scale (SASS): An Examination Among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White College Women

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052098549
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Yeater ◽  
Kristen N. Vitek ◽  
Ryan S. Ross ◽  
Meredith Blackwell ◽  
Katie Witkiewitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
College Women ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Sexual Victimization ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
The United States ◽  
Bisexual Women ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Hispanic White ◽  
White College

Rates of sexual victimization have remained steady over several decades, and preventative interventions to reduce men’s sexually aggressive behavior have been largely ineffective. As such, research has endeavored to find novel approaches to identify women at increased risk for sexual victimization. Sexual assault scripts, or “cognitive models” that women adhere to that guide their beliefs about sexual assault are posited to influence their victimization risk. Prior studies on sexual assault scripts primarily have been qualitative in nature; however, recent work yielded a 27-item measure of putative risk for sexual victimization called the Sexual Assault Script Scale (SASS). The SASS has four subscales called Stereotypical Assault Scripts, Acquaintance Assault Scripts, Assault Resistance Scripts, and Date/Friend Assault Scripts, which were found in prior work to be internally consistent and associated with putative risk factors for sexual victimization. The focus of the current study was to test the measurement invariance of the SASS among Hispanic and non-Hispanic White college women who were recruited in the prior study. Four hundred sixty-nine ( N = 469) Hispanic and 415 non-Hispanic White US undergraduate heterosexual or bisexual women from a Southwestern university in the United States completed the SASS. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) replicated the prior four-factor model with an acceptable fit to the data, and tests of measurement invariance revealed the SASS to be invariant across Hispanic and non-Hispanic White college women, suggesting that the SASS is measuring a similar construct in these groups.

scholarly journals Associations of Relationship Experiences, Dating Violence, Sexual Harassment, and Assault With Alcohol Use Among Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110014
Author(s):  
W. J. Kiekens ◽  
L. Baams ◽  
J. N. Fish ◽  
R. J. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Dating Violence ◽  
Heavy Episodic Drinking ◽  
Gender Minority ◽  
Minority Adolescents ◽  
Relationship Experiences ◽  
Sexual And Gender Minority ◽  
And Gender

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents report higher rates of dating violence victimization compared with their heterosexual and cisgender peers. Research on dating violence often neglects diversity in sexual and gender identities and is limited to experiences in relationships. Further, given that dating violence and alcohol use are comorbid, research on experiences of dating violence could provide insights into alcohol use disparities among SGM adolescents. We aimed to map patterns of relationship experiences, sexual and physical dating violence, and sexual and physical assault and explored differences in these experiences among SGM adolescents. Further, we examined how these patterns explained alcohol use. We used a U.S. non-probability national web-based survey administered to 13–17-year-old SGM adolescents ( N = 12,534). Using latent class analyses, four patterns were identified: low relationship experience, dating violence and harassment and assault (72.0%), intermediate dating experiences, sexual harassment, and assault and low levels of dating violence (13.1%), high dating experiences, dating violence, and sexual assault (8.6%), and high dating experiences, dating violence, and sexual harassment and assault (6.3%). Compared to lesbian and gay adolescents, bisexual adolescents reported more experiences with dating, dating violence, and sexual assault, whereas heterosexual adolescents reported fewer experiences with dating, dating violence, and sexual harassment and assault. Compared to cisgender boys, cisgender girls, transgender boys, and non-binary/assigned male at birth adolescents were more likely to experience dating violence inside and outside of relationship contexts. Experiences of dating, dating violence, and sexual harassment and assault were associated with both drinking frequency and heavy episodic drinking. Together, the findings emphasize the relevance of relationship experiences when studying dating violence and how dating violence and sexual harassment and assault might explain disparities in alcohol use.

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