Citation

Demers JM, Ward SK, Walsh WA, Banyard VL, Cohn ES, Edwards KM, Moynihan MM. J. Aggression Maltreat. Trauma 2018; 27(1): 54-75.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10926771.2017.1382631

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The scope of student victimization occurring on college campuses is problematic, drawing the attention of researchers and campus officials. While most researchers of the disclosure of these unwanted experiences tend to examine just 1 form of victimization, a direct comparison of the disclosure of different types of campus victimization within a singular study is missing in the literature. The current study aimed to address this issue by examining 4 types of victimization experiences (unwanted sexual contact, unwanted sexual intercourse, intimate partner violence, and stalking) in a college population. A common set of possible predictors of disclosure were examined, including both demographic (e.g., gender, race, age) and situational factors (e.g., alcohol use, level of fear, relationship with perpetrator). While patterns of similarity across all victimization experiences emerged, the impact of gender, race, age, and alcohol use on disclosure decisions varied substantially by victimization type. The findings of this study address the gap in the current literature by providing a comparison and contrast of the influence of predictors across different types of victimization. Furthermore, the findings provide needed information that could help colleges and universities develop ways to encourage support-seeking and reporting among students.

Language: en

Keywords

College; disclosure; rape; relationship abuse; sexual assault; stalking