Correlates of Support Utilization After Experiencing a Sexual Assault Among College Women and Men

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052199912
Author(s):  
Lora K. McGraw ◽  
Kimberly A. Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Support Services ◽  
Heavy Drinking ◽  
Targeted Prevention ◽  
Older Students ◽  
Lower Odds ◽  
Midwestern University ◽  
Formal Services ◽  
Informal Supports

Though previous research has examined survivors’ use of formal and informal services, less research has looked at whether sexual orientation, race, and different sexual assault types (e.g., coercive) are associated with seeking support services. The purpose of this study is to examine factors associated with utilizing services or support from informal sources (e.g., telling a friend) and formal sources (e.g., psychological counseling) following a sexual assault. Data were gathered in Fall and Spring of 2019–2020 from undergraduate students at a Midwestern university. Logistic regression results showed that heterosexual students had 56% lower odds of using informal supports, while females were 2.05 times more likely to have used informal supports compared to their counterparts. Students who reported more heavy drinking had 37% lower odds of using informal supports compared to their counterparts. Those who experienced physical and incapacitated sexual assault were 2.09 times and 3.60 times more likely to have used informal supports, respectively. Additionally, older students were 1.35 times more likely to have used formal supports compared to younger students, whereas heterosexual students had 67% lower odds of using formal supports compared to sexual minority students. Those with greater PTSD symptoms were 1.07 times more likely to access formal services. Finally, students with greater depressive symptoms had 8% lower odds of using formal supports. Identifying college students who are less likely to access support services following a sexual assault has important implications for targeted prevention and intervention.

scholarly journals Ageism on Campus: Opportunities to Include Age in Diversity and Inclusion Efforts

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 7-7
Author(s):  
Cassandra Barragan ◽  
Stephanie Wladkowski
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older Students ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Older Learners ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
Midwestern University ◽  
Barriers And Opportunities ◽  
The Many ◽  
The University

Abstract Diversity and inclusion are essential perspectives on university campuses. In recent years, there has been a nationwide decline in admissions resulting in changes to traditionally FTIAC driven college campuses. An environmental scan was completed at a mid-sized midwestern university to explore age-inclusive barriers and opportunities for change. In-depth interviews were held with 28 EMU stakeholders representing a wide variety of ages in leadership positions across campus. Students aged 40 and above (N=248) were also surveyed about their experiences on campus. Qualitative analysis revealed ageist attitudes about older adults and older students from at all levels of the university. Results demonstrate that initial responses to ‘age-friendly’ focused on stereotypes of older adults, but attitudes adjusted when reframed as older learners and further refined when older learners were defined as 40 and above. Additionally, there was a distinct disconnect between ageist perceptions towards older adults and older students which highlights the importance of intergenerational opportunities as an approach to combat ageist attitudes on campus. While these barriers require long-term and complicated solutions, participants described the many benefits that older learners bring to enrich the campus. Results of this research revealed opportunities to reframe aging in the context of diversity and inclusion efforts on campus. Adopting diversity efforts to include age can benefit universities in not only admissions, classroom experiences, and connections to surrounding communities.

scholarly journals Grammatical Positions of Focuser Like Among Native English-Speaking Undergraduate Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 116
Author(s):  
Basim Alamri
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
Discourse Marker ◽  
Midwestern University ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking

Discourse markers (DMs) are used in everyday conversations to serve different meanings and functions. The present exploratory study investigated grammatical positions of focuser like among 60 undergraduate native-English-speaking students at a midwestern university in the United States. Students were asked to read and place focuser like in this sentence: “We have to read five chapters for the final exam”. Then students were required to indicate a degree of acceptability of the placement of like at every possible position in sentences that contained the discourse marker like in 10 different grammatical positions. The results showed that students preferred inserting the DM like before a noun phrase, at the beginning of a sentence, and before a verb phrase, respectively. In terms of gender, females frequently posited focuser like before a sentence, whereas males placed it before a noun phrase. Also, the discourse marker like does not occur within auxiliary. Finally, this study draws conclusions about different grammatical positions and broader usages of discourse marker focuser like among younger students. 

scholarly journals Where is it? Examining Post-Secondary Students' Accessibility to Policies and Resources on Sexual Violence

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-108
Author(s):  
Jacey Magnussen ◽  
Irene Shankar
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Support Services ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
Sexual Assault Policy ◽  
Similar Legislation

Faced with a growing demand for adequate policies and programs that meaningfully address sexual violence on campus, the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario and Manitoba have introduced legislation requiring all post-secondary institutions to institute a sexual assault policy. The remaining provinces and territories do not have similar legislation. In absence of such legislation, using the case study of Alberta, we examined how equipped post-secondary institutions in this province are to assist students in need. Utilizing publicly available data we examined: 1) whether Alberta’s post-secondary institutions have a sexual violence policy which is readily and easily accessible to the student; and 2) the ease with which students can access university resources and support services for sexual violence. The results indicate that most institutions do not have an accessible policy and support services for students in need. We are hopeful that this study can inform those designing and advocating for sexual violence policies on campus to institute measures to clarify institutions’ sexual violence policies, increase accessibility to those policies, create policies where they are missing, and work on clarifying the availability of resources for students on and off campus.

scholarly journals Sexual Assault Prevention for Heavy Drinking College Men: Development and Feasibility of an Integrated Approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 1369-1396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay M. Orchowski ◽  
Nancy P. Barnett ◽  
Alan Berkowitz ◽  
Brian Borsari ◽  
Dan Oesterle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Heavy Drinking ◽  
College Men ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
High Risk Group ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Bystander Intervention ◽  
Sexual Assault Prevention ◽  
Assault Prevention

Despite the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses, few interventions aimed at decreasing college men’s proclivity to perpetrate sexual aggression have been developed and tested. This article details the theoretical framework, content, and piloting of a sexual assault prevention program for college men who engage in heavy drinking, a high-risk group who may be particularly well positioned to intervene as proactive bystanders in drinking environments. In an open trial, male facilitators delivered the three-session Sexual Assault and Alcohol Feedback and Education (SAFE) program to 25 heavy drinking college men. Session 1 was a 90-min review of personalized normative feedback regarding alcohol use, sexual activity, alcohol-related sexual consequences, understanding of consent, and engagement in bystander intervention, delivered individually in a motivational interviewing style. Session 2 was a 2½-hr group-based sexual assault prevention workshop focusing on social norms, empathy, masculinity, consent, and bystander intervention. Session 3 was a 90-min booster group session that reviewed previous topics and included the active practice of bystander intervention skills. Analyses of postsession assessments of utility, therapeutic alliance, and satisfaction and examination of alcohol use and sexual assault–related outcomes from baseline to the 2-month assessment support the preliminary feasibility and acceptability of the SAFE program.

Effectiveness of social media for weight reduction on overweight undergraduate students in Thailand

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-99
Author(s):  
Tummatida Pattanapongsa ◽  
Wiroj Jiamjarasrangsi ◽  
Piya Hanvoravongchai ◽  
Dumrongsak Pekthong
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Support Services ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Social Media ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Experimental Group

Purpose Addressing overweight in the population is an important public health challenge. Use of social media such as Facebook has been proposed as a platform to deliver weight loss interventions to influence behavior change to tackle obesity. The purpose of this paper is to compare the effectiveness of weight loss education and support interventions delivered through online social media (experimental group) vs conventional method (control group). Design/methodology/approach The six-month experimental study comprised of a four-month intervention and a two-month follow up from May 2016 to October 2016. All faculties in a university were randomly selected into the experimental or control group. Then, undergraduate students (n=66) were randomly recruited from each faculty into the corresponding groups (experimental group=33 and control group=33). Both groups received health education and support services through either Facebook or the offline support system. The mean differences of main outcomes including body mass index (BMI) and waist to height ratio (WHtR) between groups at baseline and fourth month and baseline and sixth month were compared using t-test. Findings The results show those in the experimental group had significantly better outcomes in term of BMI and WHtR at the end of four-month intervention with the mean difference (95% CI) at 0.7 (0.1, 1.3) and 0.01 (0.00, 0.01), respectively. The differences at the end of the study, however, became insignificant. Originality/value The health education and support services through Facebook can be used in a weight loss promotion program for BMI and WHtR reduction. On a larger scale to replace conventional programs, a long-term continuous measure is needed.

“You Should Have Known Better”: The Social Ramifications of Victimization-Focused Sexual Assault Prevention Tips

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052091365
Author(s):  
Sydney Cherniawsky ◽  
Melanie Morrison
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Ambivalent Sexism ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Victim Blame ◽  
Sexual Assault Prevention ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
Assault Prevention

Common sexual assault prevention strategies emphasize individuals’ responsibility to protect themselves from victimization. Using a feminist theoretical approach, the present study was the first to assess the unintended, negative consequences that result when taking a victimization-focused approach to sexual assault prevention. Participants ( N = 321) were primarily heterosexual, Caucasian undergraduate students from a Western postsecondary institution. A between-participants experimental design was employed, whereby participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) victimization-focused prevention tips ( n = 114; e.g., “Be alert and aware of your surroundings”); (b) perpetration-focused prevention tips ( n = 103; e.g., “Don’t slip any unwanted substances into drinks at bars or parties”); or (c) study tips for control purposes ( n = 104; e.g., “Take a ten-minute break every hour”). Following prevention tip exposure, participants read a sexual assault vignette and completed measures of victim culpability and several related constructs (i.e., ambivalent sexism, belief in a just world, and rape myth acceptance). Results indicated that participants who received victimization-focused prevention tips attributed significantly more blame to the victimized woman in the vignette than participants in both the control condition and perpetration-focused condition. Based on these results, it is recommended that social institutions further evaluate the efficacy and unintended consequences of prevalent victimization-focused sexual assault prevention strategies. Specifically, institutions should consider the implications of endorsing strategies that are evidenced to enhance victim blame, thereby perpetuating rape culture. Prevention strategies that engage bystanders and seek to prevent perpetration should be considered as an alternative approach.

Facilitating Sexual Assault Reporting on the College Campus: The Role of Procedural Justice in Bystander Decisions to Provide Police Referrals

2020 ◽  
pp. 107780122095428
Author(s):  
Tri Keah S. Henry ◽  
Travis W. Franklin ◽  
Cortney A. Franklin
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Procedural Justice ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
The United States ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Race 2 ◽  
Sexual Assault Reporting

Using a randomly assigned 2 (victim race) × 2 (alcohol consumption) between-subjects factorial design, this study used surveys from a sample of 571 undergraduate students at a mid-sized, public university in the United States to determine the effect of procedural justice on police referral after reading a sexual assault disclosure vignette. Multivariate binary logistic regression models demonstrated that positive perceptions of procedural justice increased police referral following sexual assault disclosure. Victim alcohol consumption and rape myth acceptance decreased police referral. Victim race, victim alcohol consumption, and participant sex did not moderate the effect of procedural justice on police referral. Implications are discussed.

Students as Prosocial Bystanders to Sexual Assault: Demographic Correlates of Intervention Norms, Intentions, and Missed Opportunities

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 731-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill C. Hoxmeier ◽  
Alan C. Acock ◽  
Brian R. Flay
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Athletic Participation ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Bystander Behavior ◽  
Missed Opportunities ◽  
Major Public Health Issue ◽  
Demographic Correlates ◽  
Race Ethnicity

Sexual assault is a major public health issue. Bystander engagement programs are becoming widely used to combat sexual assault on college campuses. The purpose of this study was to examine students’ intervention norms, intentions, opportunities, and behaviors as bystanders to sexual assault. Undergraduate students ( N = 779) completed the Sexual Assault Bystander Behavior Questionnaire in the fall of 2014. The t tests revealed differences in students’ intervention norms, intentions, opportunities, and missed opportunities based on sex, race/ethnicity, athletic participation, and fraternity/sorority membership. The findings support the use of additional measures to assess bystander behavior and to identify student subpopulations that may benefit from programs aimed at increasing prosocial intervention.

Not a Big Deal? Examining Help-Seeking Behaviors of Sexually Victimized Women on the College Campus

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 1415-1429 ◽  
Author(s):  
McKenzie Wood ◽  
Amy Stichman
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Sexual Victimization ◽  
College Experience ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
College Campus ◽  
Sexual Crimes ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviors ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Midwestern University

The sexual assault and coercion of women on university campuses continues to be an ongoing problem. It is estimated that more than 15% of women attending college experience some type of sexual assault or coercion each year. As universities and other social institutions begin to acknowledge the prevalence of sexual victimization, an increased emphasis has been placed on helping victims of sexual crimes. The current study uses results from 378 surveys completed by females at a midwestern university to examine the help-seeking behaviors of those who have been victimized. This study specifically focuses on formal and informal reporting, identifying help agents, and reasons for not reporting. Results reveal that 1% of women who were victimized reported their experience to a formal entity, whereas 45% told an informal agent, such as a friend or roommate. Reasons for not reporting included not identifying the experience as rape, wanting to keep the experience private, and feeling ashamed.

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