College students’ experiences of sexual violence and reasons for seeking care in campus health and counseling centers

Abstract

Objective Examine associations between care seeking reasons in college health and counseling centers and sexual violence (SV). Participants College students (n = 2,084 baseline, n = 1,170 one-year follow up) participating in a cluster randomized controlled trial of an SV reduction intervention on 28 campuses. Methods Computer-based survey data gathered during students’ clinic visit and one-year follow up. Results Despite high prevalence of SV, students almost never sought care specifically for SV (0.5% of reported visits). Gender differences emerged for reasons students sought care generally, but were not associated with differences in care seeking among those who experienced SV. At baseline and one-year, students who reported SV were more likely to state mental or sexual and reproductive health as their reason for care seeking. Conclusion Many students seeking care have experienced SV yet present with other health needs. Providers need to recognize this and have a low threshold for providing SV resources routinely. Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2022.2057189