Institutional Response and Impact of Reporting Sexual Violence: An Examination of Sexual and Gender Minority College Students

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110550
Author(s):  
Lauren R. Grocott ◽  
Nykia R. Leach ◽  
Leslie A. Brick ◽  
Richard Meza-Lopez ◽  
Lindsay M. Orchowski
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Minority Students ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Sexual Victimization ◽  
Poor Response ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Institutional Response ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
And Gender

Although college students who are sexual and gender minorities (SGM) experience higher rates of sexual victimization than their peers who identify as heterosexual and cisgender, there is a paucity in the literature investigating how college campuses can address the needs of SGM college students in violence prevention and response. The present research examines a subset of data from the Healthy Minds Survey (HMS), a national web-based survey administered across two universities from 2016 to 2017. We examined the role of SGM status in the rates of sexual violence, perceptions of their college/university’s institutional response to reports of sexual violence (e.g., taking a report seriously and taking corrective action), and the perceived impact of reporting sexual violence (e.g., students would support the person making a report). Logistic regression analyses revealed higher rates of sexual victimization among sexual minority students (compared to heterosexual), women (compared to men), and transgender and gender diverse (TGD) students (compared to cisgender). In addition, sexual minority (compared to heterosexual), women (compared to men), and TGD (compared to cisgender) students were more likely to perceive their institution would have a poor response to reports of sexual violence. Women and sexual minority students were also likely to believe that students who report sexual violence would suffer academically. These findings highlight the need for continued efforts to enhance sexual assault prevention and response efforts on college campuses, especially for SGM students.

Social norms for sexual violence perpetration in college

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Louise Hackman ◽  
Tricia Witte ◽  
Marissa Greenband
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Influential Factor ◽  
Public Institution ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Social Norms

Purpose Sexual violence (SV) is a pervasive public health issue on college campuses. While much research has been conducted to determine factors contributing to SV, little work focuses on the role of perceived social norms. The purpose of this paper is to examine college students’ perceived descriptive norms for SV perpetration (i.e. prevalence estimates for SV). Design/methodology/approach Using a cross-sectional survey, male and female college students from a large public institution in the Southeastern USA were instructed to estimate the prevalence of SV for “typical students” of their same gender on campus. Findings When compared to actual prevalence rates of SV perpetrated by females and males, both perpetrators and non-perpetrators overestimated the prevalence of SV among same-sex peers, but perpetrators made even higher estimates compared to those made by non-perpetrators for some sexually aggressive acts. Results demonstrate strong and consistent normative misperceptions surrounding SV perpetration. Research limitations/implications Findings lend support for testing social norms-based prevention programs for SV on college campuses. Originality/value This study is one of the first investigations into perceived social norms surrounding SV; perceived social norms may be an influential factor contributing to SV.

Understanding the Complexities of Sexual Assault and Its Traumatic Effects

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Beste
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
College Students ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Student Perspectives ◽  
Important Research ◽  
Sexual Culture ◽  
Sexual Assault Survivors ◽  
Hookup Culture

This chapter focuses on the particular injustice of sexual violence because it emerged as a dominant theme in students’ reflections on party and hookup culture. If we hope to create a just sexual culture in which all college students are respected and treated as ends-in-themselves, we first need to confront the reality of sexual violence on college campuses. Drawing both on student perspectives and important research studies, this chapter first examines why sexual violence is so prevalent on college campuses and then identifies risk factors that increase the likelihood of victimization and perpetration. Lastly, the author examines the traumatic effects of sexual violence on sexual assault survivors.

Expanding Our View: Demographic, Behavioral, and Contextual Factors in College Sexual Victimization

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052090507
Author(s):  
Sarah A. Rogers ◽  
Baker A. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Violence Prevention ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Sexual Victimization ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
College Health ◽  
Behavioral Factors ◽  
Prevention Programming ◽  
Men And Women

Despite efforts on some college campuses to address the issue of sexual victimization, the numbers have not changed much over the last four decades. The purpose of this study is to examine how demographic, contextual, and behavioral factors influence sexual victimization on college campuses. Using data from the Fall 2011 National College Health Assessment/American College Health Association survey, we examine three hypotheses: (1) contextual factors will have a greater effect on the likelihood of victimization than behavioral factors; (2) demographic factors will have a greater effect on the likelihood of victimization than behavioral factors; and (3) contextual factors for men will have a greater effect than contextual factors for women. While previous studies have tackled portions of these larger objectives, few studies have focused on all three sets of factors of analysis simultaneously. Overall, we find that behavioral factors predict sexual victimization better than either demographic or contextual factors for both men and women. However, we also find that some contextual factors are significant, including variables not generally discussed in the literature, such as perception of typical student behaviors and dissemination of violence prevention programming and information. In addition, we add to the literature by showing how demographic, behavioral, and contextual factors of sexual victimization vary in significance for men and women. These findings support the calls for more sexual violence prevention programming on college campuses that is more intersectional and addresses the issue of sexual violence based on the knowledge we have gained about individual, interactional, and institutional factors that contribute to this problem.

scholarly journals Eating Competence of Sexual Minority College Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 1335-1335
Author(s):  
Sara Murphy ◽  
Jesse Morrell
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
New England ◽  
Minority Students ◽  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Eating Attitudes ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Eating Competence

Abstract Objectives To assess differences in eating competence between sexual minority and heterosexual college students, 18–24 years old, at a public, New England university. Methods Data were collected between 2015–18 from the College Health and Nutrition Assessment Survey, an ongoing, cross-sectional study. Participants (n = 1984) completed the Eating Competence Satter Inventory (ecSI 2.0™) and self-reported their sexual orientation as part of an online questionnaire. Possible ecSI scores range from 0–48, with eating competence defined as ≥32. Mean differences in ecSI scores between heterosexual (96.5%) and sexual minority (3.5% gay or lesbian, bisexual, or other) students were evaluated via ANCOVA, using gender, dining hall usage, and BMI as covariates. Results Heterosexual students tended to have a higher mean ecSI score vs. students who identify as a sexual minority (33.5 ± 0.2 vs. 31.5 ± 1.1, P = 0.06) and tended to be considered eating competent compared to sexual minority students (60% vs. 50%, P = 0.10). Mean subscale scores for Eating Attitudes (0–15) and Contextual Skills (0–12) were higher in heterosexual vs. sexual minority students (13.3 ± 0.09 vs. 12.2 ± 0.47, P < 0.02 and 10.7 ± 0.07 vs. 9.8 ± 0.40, P < 0.05 respectively). Conclusions In this sample of college students, eating competence tended to be lower among sexual minority students compared to heterosexual students. Further research from diverse campuses will help college educators and health professionals appropriately target nutrition education and support for a diverse student body. Funding Sources New Hampshire Agriculture Experiment Stations and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hatch Project 1010,738.

Prevalence of Sexual Victimization Among Female and Male College Students: A Methodological Note With Data

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052097819
Author(s):  
Ernest N. Jouriles ◽  
Jamie Nguyen ◽  
Alison Krauss ◽  
S. Lynne Stokes ◽  
Renee McDonald
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Sexual Victimization ◽  
Research Participation ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Recruitment Methods ◽  
Male College ◽  
Victimization Rates ◽  
Male College Students

This study provides insight on how sample recruitment methods may affect reported rates of sexual victimization on college campuses. The study compares sexual victimization rates among students who complete surveys after initial requests with those who complete them only after multiple reminders. Using probability sampling methods, undergraduate students from 12 universities were invited to complete a survey on campus violence; initial invitations were followed with up to five reminders. Women ( n = 1,008) and men ( n = 344) who completed surveys were categorized as early, middle, or late responders based on the number of reminders required to convert them from non-responders to responders. About 24.2% of women and 15.6% of men reported sexual victimization in the previous two months. In initial analyses, female early and late responders did not differ on sexual victimization, but males did. Male late responders reported higher rates of sexual victimization than early responders. In sensitivity analyses that re-defined early and late responders, women who were early responders reported more sexual victimization than women who were late responders, while men who were early responders reported less sexual victimization than men who were late responders. These findings suggest that researchers may underestimate sexual victimization rates for male college students unless multiple attempts are made to solicit their participation. Researchers are encouraged to utilize multiple reminders to increase research participation.

Prior Sexual Victimization and Disclosure of Campus Sexual Violence Among College Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-69
Author(s):  
Kate Stepleton ◽  
Sarah McMahon ◽  
Cathryn C. Potter ◽  
Michael J. MacKenzie
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Sexual Victimization

Justly Relating to Self and Others in College Culture

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Beste
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Sexual Behaviors ◽  
Gender Norms ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
College Culture ◽  
Sexual Desires ◽  
Hookup Culture ◽  
And Gender

What kind of relationships and sex do college students actually desire? Students’ reflections indicate that they want just and mutual connections. What hinders these? According to students, one reason they may tolerate unjust sexual and gender norms and perpetuate injustice in their sexual lives is the “toxic messages” found in the ubiquitous eroticization of sexual inequality throughout our culture. Such eroticization of power-over interactions deeply affects their sexual expectations, sexual desires, arousal patterns, and sexual behaviors. After offering their perspectives on Margaret Farley’s account of just sex, undergraduate students provide analyses of whether hookups and hookup culture overall can be just, their perspectives on just sex, and their view of obstacles to sexual justice on college campuses and within broader U.S. culture.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender College Students: Revisiting Retention

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaitlin Legg ◽  
Andy Cofino ◽  
Ronni Sanlo
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Similar Nature ◽  
Gender Nonconforming ◽  
Transgender Students ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender ◽  
And Bisexual

In 2004, Sanlo published a proposed method to examine the lives and experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual college students and their persistence to graduation. Transgender students were not included except with regard to their identifying as a sexual minority. To date, neither further articles nor research of a similar nature have been published. Even with heightened visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students on college campuses, the literature still does not capture the specific and unique experiences of health, scholarship, and persistence of this population. These scholar–practitioner authors share their various experiences as directors of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) centers and why retention studies of the LGBTQ population are necessary as well as why transgender or gender-nonconforming students must also be included in such studies.

Setting an Agenda to Address Intimate Partner Violence Among Young Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Conceptual Model and Review

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina Kubicek
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Young Men ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Minority Populations ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Sex With Men

Research investigating intimate partner violence (IPV) among sexual minorities is limited. The research that does exist has found that rates of IPV are similar to or higher than the rates found for heterosexual women, the most commonly studied population in this area. This limited research has resulted in a dearth of prevention/intervention programs targeted for these populations. While some may argue that existing IPV programs can be used for these populations, this review presents an argument for more targeted work with sexual minority populations, using young men who have sex with men (YMSM) as an example. Drawing on the framework of intersectionality, this article argues that the intersectionality of age, sexual identity, and gender combines to create a spectrum of unique factors that require specific attention. This framework allows for the identification of known correlates for IPV as well as factors that may be unique to YMSM or other sexual minority populations. The article presents a conceptual model that suggests new areas of research as well as a foundation for the topics and issues that should be addressed in an intervention.

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