This exploratory study aimed to answer three research questions about the relationship between childhood victimization and being hazed during college. Secondary data analysis was conducted with a sample of first-year college students who completed a web-based survey during their fall and spring semesters. Forms of childhood victimization measured in this study include: bullying victimization, peer victimization (multiple forms and length), and exposure to other forms of victimization (e.g., parental abuse, dating abuse). Results support the hypothesis that students with a victimization history are more likely be hazed during college. Specifically, a chronic victimization history – exposure to multiple forms of peer victimization, longer peer victimization, and other forms of childhood victimization – was associated with an increased odds of being hazed during college. Results did not support the hypothesis that a sense of college belongingness would moderate the relationship between past victimization and hazing during college. There was partial support for the hypothesis that a victimization history would put students at risk for perceived negative effects of hazing. Childhood physical dating abuse, sexual assault, and exposure to other forms of childhood victimization were all positively associated with perceived negative consequences of hazing. Lastly, results found that exposure to other forms of childhood victimization moderates the relationship between being hazed during college and depression. Specifically, those with prior exposure to other forms of childhood victimization who are also hazed report lower depression scores than those with this victimization history who do not enter hazing initiations. These findings lend themselves to future research to better understand the relationships found between childhood victimization and hazing initiations during college. These findings also have practical implications for understanding the trajectory of previously victimized students. There are a number of limitations of the current study that can be addressed in future research.

This thesis investigates whether an association can be established between childhood victimization (CV) and current mental health (MH) among Swedish university students, focusing on the prevalence of anxiety, depression and hazardous alcohol use (HAU) in relation to different forms of CV. The data comes from the World Mental Health International College Student Initiative, a global survey designed to generate data on MH disorders, as well as implement and evaluate web-based interventions aimed at preventing and treating said disorders. The thesis hypothesized that high levels of CV would be positively associated with the prevalence of the aforementioned conditions and that females with a history of CV would have a higher prevalence of these conditions. Using SPSS, 23 variables related to CV were analyzed using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), which extracted 6 factors. The 23 variables were condensed into 6 additive indexes according to findings from the EFA, as well as one additive index making up all 23 variables to check for general CV. Eight consecutive hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses (OLS) were conducted, two for each of the dependent variables; anxiety, depression, HAU as well as an index combining all three dependent variables to indicate the presence of one or more conditions. Each analysis had gender in the first block and added the CV index or the six factors in the second block. The results show positive associations between four CV factors and depression, and positive associations between anxiety and two CV factors, as well as a positive association between females and anxiety. The results also indicate a positive association between males and HAU. The findings are in line with previous research, but further research is needed to provide stronger evidence of an association between CV and MH/HAU among Swedish university students.