The pervasiveness of sexual assault on college campuses is well documented. Koss, in her recent survey of 6,200 university and college students on 32 campuses nationwide, found that 53,8% of undergraduate women reported having been sexually victimized. Yet little is understood about the precipitants of forced sexual relations. We argue that the risk of sexual assault among collegians is increased by the interaction of three components: (1) the socio-cultural and psychological characteristics of the victim; (2) the socio-cultural and psychological characteristics of the offender; and (3) the social context of the offense itself. We will analyze each of the component parts and the interaction among them. This study marks the first time an integrated sociological and psychological theoretical approach has guided the analysis of the risk of sexual assault among university students. The purpose of this research is to provide longitudinal analyses of central risk factors within each component of the model. Changes in risk factors over time will also be analyzed. Using survey and interview methods we will assess early childhood experiences with sex and violence, personality and attitudinal factors, and current behaviors related to dating relationships and sexual aggression. The data will describe the experiences and values college freshmen bring to campus with them. The potential causal relationship among these risk factors and subsequent sexual aggression will be analyzed. Vulnerability to sexual victimization is not random; neither is the perpetration of sexual assault. Prevention is possible to the extent that we understand the interaction among its precipitants, and how they operate over time. This research will contribute significantly to the establishment of effective sexual assault prevention programs on campus.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH045083-03
Application #
2246380
Study Section
Criminal and Violent Behavior Research Review Committee (CVR)
Project Start
1990-08-01
Project End
1995-07-31
Budget Start
1992-08-01
Budget End
1993-07-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1992
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of North Carolina Greensboro
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
616152567
City
Greensboro
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
27402
Swartout, Kevin M; Koss, Mary P; White, Jacquelyn W et al. (2015) Trajectory Analysis of the Campus Serial Rapist Assumption. JAMA Pediatr 169:1148-54
Swartout, Ashlyn G; Swartout, Kevin M; White, Jacquelyn W (2011) What Your Data Didn't Tell You the First Time Around: Advanced Analytic Approaches to Longitudinal Analyses. Violence Against Women 17:309-21
Swartout, Kevin M; White, Jacquelyn W (2010) The relationship between drug use and sexual aggression in men across time. J Interpers Violence 25:1716-35
White, Jacquelyn W; Smith, Paige Hall (2009) Covariation in the use of physical and sexual intimate partner aggression among adolescent and college-age men: a longitudinal analysis. Violence Against Women 15:24-43
Lyndon, Amy E; White, Jacquelyn W; Kadlec, Kelly M (2007) Manipulation and force as sexual coercion tactics: conceptual and empirical differences. Aggress Behav 33:291-303
Smith, Paige Hall; White, Jacquelyn W; Holland, Lindsay J (2003) A longitudinal perspective on dating violence among adolescent and college-age women. Am J Public Health 93:1104-9
Humphrey, J A; White, J W (2000) Women's vulnerability to sexual assault from adolescence to young adulthood. J Adolesc Health 27:419-24