Objective: This study assessed whether college women who bring their own alcohol to parties (BYOB) are less vulnerable to sexual victimization (SV). Participants: Participants were 652 female freshmen (M age = 18.04 years) at a large, public university. Methods: Women were recruited by email to complete online surveys of their drinking-related…

Objective: Research has just begun to identify American college students who study abroad as a group at-risk for sexual violence victimization. The purpose of the current study was to examine the context of these incidents. Participants: We utilized a large longitudinal sample of 2,428 United States college students studying abroad for between 4…

Sexual assault continues to plague college campuses despite years of targeted intervention. Recent prevention efforts have focused on the role of bystanders in reducing rates. However, limited work has explored actual intervention behaviors as opposed to intentions to intervene or reasons why individuals might choose not to help. College students…

Objective: To examine whether sexual assault prospectively predicts unhealthy weight management behaviors in college women. Method: Participants were female college students (N = 483) with monthly assessments across the first year, including the frequency and severity of sexual assault and unhealthy weight management behaviors. Results: Frequency…

The present preliminary study is aimed at finding the interconnection between maladaptive personality characteristics, sexually aggressive behaviors, and rape myth endorsement in a sample comprised of college men. Sexual violence is particularly rampant in the college venue, therefore, understanding more about the risk factors associated with…

Objective: The current study examined the influence of rape myth acceptance on self-blame and psychological symptoms following a sexual assault. Participants: The sample included 280 female sexual assault survivors in college. Methods: In an online survey, participants completed the Sexual Experiences Survey -- Short Form Victimization, Updated…

Objective: This study investigated binge drinking in college students with and without disabilities and sexual violence (SV). Participants: This analysis includes 2,113 college students recruited from campus health or counseling centers between 2015 and 2017, aged 18-24. Method: Multinomial logistic regression procedures were used to estimate…

Objective: Due to high prevalence rates of sexual assault among college-aged women and the benefits of disclosure (e.g., emotional well-being), it remains important to consider barriers to disclosure. The current paper aimed to examine if barriers to disclosure may be more salient to sorority women. Participants: We examined differences in rates…

Sexual assault is a major public health concern and college women are four times more likely to experience sexual assault than any other group. We investigated whether sexting is a mechanism by which alcohol use increases risk for college women to be targeted for sexual assault. We hypothesized that sexting would mediate the relationship between…

Many young women attending post-secondary education report high rates of sexual coercion and other forms of sexual violence on campus; however young women with disabilities may experience even higher rates of these behaviours. While researchers have investigated some types of violence, in particular intimate partner violence, little of this work…

Objective: One in five college women experience unwanted sexual contact while in college, with first-year women being at the greatest risk. Given these data, we investigate how first-semester sexual assault impacts college women's mental health. Participants: 483 female first-year students enrolled in the study during the first month of college.…

Religious colleges and universities make up a substantial segment of the higher education landscape in North America, but the incidence of sexual violence on these campuses remains understudied. This study estimates the incidence of sexual violence on independent Christian campuses using a sample of part-time and full-time undergraduate students…

Objective: High rates of sexual victimization among college students necessitate further study of factors associated with sexual assault risk detection. The present study examined how social information processing relates to sexual assault risk detection as a function of sexual assault victimization history. Participants: 225 undergraduates…

The sexual victimization of sexual minorities enrolled in college is not a topic that has been well researched. The present study examines the awareness that college minority students have of services they can access in the event they experience sexual violence. The results indicate that many students are unaware of specific services that they can…

Objective: Researchers compared rape victimization based on self-identification to the current federal legal definition in a pilot study of college students. Methods: The sample was comprised of 1,648 (69.8% female; 30.2% male) college students who completed the Sexual Experiences Survey-Short Form Victimization (SES-SFV) online. Results: Based on…