College students’ perceptions of the importance of sexual assault prevention education: Suggestions for targeting recruitment for peer-based education

Abstract

Introduction: Sexual assault continues to be a pervasive health issue among college students in the USA. Prevention education initiatives have been implemented to address this concern. However, little is known about college students’ perceptions of such programming. The purpose of this study was to assess predictors of college students’ perceptions of the importance of sexual assault prevention education for themselves and for college students in general. Methods: We recruited college students ( n = 252) from undergraduate classes at a medium-sized, mid-western university to participate in a closed-ended, paper-and-pencil survey. Results: The majority of participants perceived sexual assault prevention education as important for themselves (88.7%) and for college students in general (97.1%). Several characteristics emerged as predictors of students’ perceptions of the importance of sexual assault prevention education programmes. Discussion: Gender and age were significant predictors of students’ perceptions of the personal importance in experiencing sexual assault prevention education. Gender, age, participation in a student organisation and previous experience of sexual assault emerged as significant predictors of students’ perception of the general importance of sexual assault prevention education. Conclusion: Sexual assault prevention educators could seek out specific individuals whom think prevention education is important, in order to involve them in prevention efforts as peer-educators.