Examination of the Multilevel Sexual Stigma Model of Intimate Partner Violence Risk Among LGBQ+ College Students: A Prospective Analysis Across Eighteen Institutions of Higher Education

Abstract

ABSTRACT Sexual stigma operates at multiple levels (institutional, group, individual), which serves to disadvantage sexual minority (LGBQ+) individuals and increases risk for deleterious outcomes. The current study evaluated a novel multilevel sexual stigma model of intimate partner violence (MLSSM-IPV) that incorporates multiple levels of sexual stigma as related to IPV risk via several pathways (e.g. hazardous drinking, affective symptoms). We evaluated this model in a longitudinal study of LGBQ+ undergraduate college students (n = 2,415) attending 18 universities who completed surveys in the Fall and Spring semesters. Group-level sexual stigma on each campus was assessed via surveys with heterosexual students (n = 8,517) and faculty, staff, and administrators (n = 2,865), and institutional-level stigma was evaluated via a campus climate assessment. At the campus level, institutional stigma was related to LGBQ+ students’ self-stigma and identity concealment. Moreover, self-stigma prospectively predicted IPV victimization, and hazardous drinking mediated the relations between self-stigma and IPV perpetration and victimization. Results suggest that interventions addressing stigma and hazardous drinking may be efficacious in reducing IPV among LGBQ+ students. Further, comprehensive efforts to improve campus climate for LGBQ+ students are likely to produce a plethora of benefits for these students.