Citation

Holland KJ. Psychol. Violence 2020; 10(2): 245-254.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/vio0000240

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Sexual assault is a prevalent problem in higher education and experiencing assault is deleterious for students' mental health and academic well-being. There have been recent, substantial changes in institutional policies and practices addressing sexual assault, including the expansion of formal supports such as Title IX offices handling reporting processes and sexual assault centers (SACs) providing advocacy services. However, college students rarely use these resources. Drawing from institutional betrayal theory, the current study examined relationships among students' trust in the Title IX Office and the SAC and individual characteristics in predicting intentions to use these 2 central supports.

METHOD: Survey data were collected from 840 undergraduate women to assess trust in the Title IX Office and the SAC, experience of college sexual assault, rape myth acceptance (RMA), race/ethnicity, and sexuality.

RESULTS: Trust was associated with greater intentions to report and seek help. Women who experienced college sexual assault and students with higher RMA had lower resource-use intentions. Interactions suggested that trust in the Title IX Office may be more influential for reporting intentions among college sexual assault survivors with lower RMA and women with higher RMA who did not experience college sexual assault. Contrary to expectations, trust did not play a more prominent role in resource-use intentions for women of color and lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer women.

CONCLUSION: Findings suggest it would be helpful for institutions to assess students' perceptions of reporting options and resources on campus and evaluate the effectiveness of education programs to challenge myths about sexual assault. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Language: en