Are female college students who are diagnosed with depression at greater risk of experiencing sexual violence on college campus?

Abstract

We examined the association between depression and sexual violence among 18-24 year-old female college students using National College Health Assessment survey. Data were collected from a nationally representative sample of 10,541 female students on 33 college campuses. Results showed that female students who were reportedly ever diagnosed with depression were 1.56 times more likely than those who had never been diagnosed with depression to have experienced sexual violence. Female students who had one or more sexual partners currently were found 3.17 times more likely than those who had no sexual partner to have experienced sexual violence; similarly, female students who engaged in binge drinking in the previous two weeks were found about two times more likely than their counterparts to have experienced sexual violence. Depression is a public health issue and must be addressed sooner rather than later in order to reduce and prevent sexual violence on college campuses.