Social, Situational, and Psychological Factors Linked to Campus Sexual Assault

Abstract

Objective: This dissertation research utilizes a dataset derived from the National Collegiate Health Assessment II to identify specific social, situational and psychological factors that contribute to students becoming victims of campus sexual assault at a large, southern university historically known as a “party school.” Methods: Combined data for the period 2010-2014 were used to create a data set (n=5504) to examine the interplay between alcohol consumption and likelihood of experiencing sexual assault on this campus. Logistic regression quantified the magnitude of the relationship between certain survey items specific to alcohol use, protective behavioral strategies for high-risk alcohol use, and likelihood of experiencing sexual assault. Results: Victims of sexual assault were found to be predominantly female, median age of 21, and in their second year of college. Adjusted odds ratios indicated strong relationships (p ≤ .01) between most of the social, situational, and psychological variables analyzed and the likelihood of experiencing sexual assault, except for protective behavioral strategies for high-risk alcohol use, alternating drinking, staying with a friend the entire time “partying,” and tracking the amount of alcohol consumed. Conclusion: Since 2011, the federal government has placed a significant amount of attention on mitigating the likelihood of sexual abuse on college campuses, calling for both adherence to federal mandates, and strongly recommending that prevention programs covering a wide array of topics be instituted. This has, in turn, created an environment for administrators and educators in which ensuring compliance with federal mandates appears to take precedence over student safety and program efficacy. Programs that are developed solely based on federal mandates, without an understanding of the complexity and context surrounding sexual assault on college campuses may increase reporting and ensure that services are offered for victims, but will not impact the overall numbers of victims. This research seeks to propose a foundation for integrating protective behavioral strategies for high-risk alcohol use and sexual assault primary prevention programs within higher education institutions. This would allow both underfunded and understaffed educators to capitalize on the potential for pooling limited resources and more importantly enhancing the likelihood of reducing both the risk for and incidence of sexual assault on college campuses.%%%%Dr.P.H., Community Health and Prevention – Drexel University, 2016