Background: Alcohol-related sexual assault is a pressing health concern on U.S. college campuses. The unrelenting prevalence of campus sexual assault has led to a greater focus on how to empower college women to resist unwanted sexual advances within alcohol-infused contexts. Alcohol-aggression expectancies have emerged as one potential barrier to…

Suicide is a global public health concern. The interplay of the multiple risk factors (sexual violence victimization, prescription drug misuse, bullying experience) with adolescents' suicidal behaviors has not been studied extensively. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between sexual violence victimization, prescription drug…

Heteronormativity posits the superiority of heterosexuality and heterosexually-based norms over all other forms of sexual or gender expression, and heteronormative beliefs have been shown to affect how individuals view sexuality and gender. The concept of gender transition inherently goes against the ideals of heteronormativity. The current study…

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…

Women face heightened risk of sexual assault and a growing body of research has suggested that bystanders play a key role in preventing violence against women. To date, research has not fully explored bystander responses "following" a sexual assault event. Using self-categorization theory, this study employed an experimental design with…

Objective: College students are a high-risk population for sexual assault exposure. This study examines (1) sociodemographic differences in student perceptions of institutions of higher education (IHEs) responses to sexual assault reporting and (2) the relationship between student perceptions, knowledge of campus sexual assault (CSA) services, and…

Using survey data from a large, public university, the authors examined the relationships of precollege sexual violence experience to revictimization and disclosure. Among victims of campus sexual violence, those with prior sexual victimization were no more or less likely to disclose to campus resources and were less likely to disclose to peers.…

Objective: Most sexual assault prevention approaches are universal in nature. The present study evaluated a Transtheoretical Model (TTM)--based Stages of Change (SOC) measure assessing readiness to utilize sexual assault risk reduction skills. The measure was evaluated with regard to Decisional Balance and Self-Efficacy. Participants: Survey data…

Objective: Verbal coercion (VC) is a common sexual assault (SA) tactic whereby men and women can be victims or perpetrators. College study abroad students report engagement in casual sex, alcohol consumption, and immersion in a sexualized environment (eg, an environment that supports or encourages sexual activity); factors highly associated with…

Objective: Previous research has found women who experience eight or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are 3.5 times as likely to be victims of adult IPV. This study examined the relationship between ACEs and IPV (physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and stalking) among college students. Participants: This study was…

Objective: This study examined the moderating and mediating effects of perceived social support on the association between precollege sexual assault (SA) and college-onset SA. Participants: A representative sample of 6,132 undergraduates. Methods: The PLUM procedure in SPSS was used to test the moderation model, with individual regressions…

Most of the research focusing on sexual victimization on college campuses has focused on females as victims. This attention is warranted given that studies have consistently found that females are at more risk of experiencing victimization compared to males. However, a drawback of this emphasis is that laypersons may incorrectly believe that men…

Sexual assault has been an issue facing institutions of higher education for many years (Office of Civil Rights, 2011). Alcohol plays a role in both who have been victims of sexual assault and who have perpetrated the crime of sexual assault (Crawford, Wright, & Birchmeier, 2008). The purpose of this study was to look at sexual misconduct at…

This study examined rape myth acceptance among 727 university students from 21 U.S. institutions with the updated Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance scale. Findings showed sorority members rejected rape myths at greater rates than non-sorority members, but fraternity members were similar to non-fraternity members. Higher rape myth acceptance was…

Bystander intervention has been an effective strategy for crime prevention and has been successful in the context of campus sexual assault. Less is known about the extent to which individual-level factors correlate with intervention behavior in situations of intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual harassment. The present study used a sample of…