College-level perceptions of drinking, binge drinking, and sexual violence perpetration: A multilevel mediation model

Abstract

Objective To determine whether college men’s perceptions of campus drinking norms, aggregated at the institution-level, predicted heavy episodic drinking and sexual violence perpetration. Participants: Data were collected from a sample of 1144 first-year male college freshmen enrolled at one of thirty four-year institutions in the state of Georgia. Methods: Four waves of online survey data were collected as part of a longitudinal cohort study completed in 2016. Results: Perceptions of campus drinking norms aggregated at the institution-level significantly predicted college men’s heavy episodic drinking. Heavy episodic drinking mediated the relationship between perceptions of the typical students’ drinking behavior and perpetration of sexual violence, such that participants at institutions with higher levels of perceived drinking norms reported more heavy episodic drinking and sexual violence perpetration. Conclusions: Findings from this study provide further support for the inclusion of broader campus-level prevention strategies as part of a comprehensive approach to preventing sexual violence.