Violence Victimization on a College Campus

Abstract

Violence against university students has significant impact on their mental health. The impact of violence on students’ academic performance has received little attention. The primary purpose of this study is to examine the impact of sexual and physical/verbal violence on the academic performance of college students. Data from 74 case files of service users of a campus-based Relationship and Sexual Violence Program were examined. Bivariate analysis was used to examine the impact of sexual and physical/verbal victimization on grade point average and leaving school. Students who experienced both physical/verbal and sexual violence experienced significant drop in their grade point average. Students who experienced sexual victimization were more likely to leave the university than students who experienced physical/verbal victimization. Findings indicate that universities would be well served by investing resources in violence prevention programming.