Reciprocal Relationships Among Alcohol Use, Risk Perception, and Sexual Victimization: A Prospective Analysis

Abstract

Objective: The authors' purpose in this study was to assess longitudinally the relationships among alcohol use, risk perception, and sexual victimization. Participants: Three hundred and seventy-two women from 2 midsized universities made up the sample. Methods: Participants filled out questionnaires regarding history of sexual victimization, alcohol use, and perceived personal risk for sexual assault in the following 2 months. The authors then reassessed participants at 2 follow-up periods. Results: The pattern of results suggested that that the relationship between alcohol use and sexual victimization was complex and that alcohol use may moderate the relation between history of victimization and revictimization for women with sexual assault histories. In particular, results indicated an increase in risk for sexual revictimization with increases in alcohol use for women with a history of sexual victimization. The data did not, however, support a reciprocal relationship between sexual assault and drinking (eg, in that a sexual victimization during one time period did not predict drinking behaviors in subsequent time periods). Conclusions: These results underscore the importance of both alcohol and sexual assault programming on college campuses.