Sexual violence is a major issue among students in college. In the past 20 years, researchers have made great strides contributing to the knowledge base of sexual violence and have begun discussing the myriad of outcomes and associations seen in victims/survivors of sexual violence. The present study, guided by stress and coping theory (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), adds to the growing body of research attempting to understand the scope of sexual violence in higher education by looking at sexual violence broadly and in a more nuanced way. Further, the present study examined the relationships among specific high-risk behaviors (heavy drinking, purging, suicide attempts, and deliberate self-injury) in a large, national sample of U.S. college men and women who have experienced different types of sexual violence (sexually touched without consent, attempted sexual penetration without consent, and sexual penetration without consent) in the last 12 months. Additionally, the study explored whether sexual violence has a differential impact on male and female college students. Further, acknowledging the history of rape in the U.S. as intertwined with the oppression of black individuals, this study explored the role of race in the associations between sexual violence and high-risk behaviors. A secondary analysis of National College Health Assessment data collected annually from 2011 to 2014, resulted in sample of 96,977 male and female college students. Four research questions (resulting in 32 hypotheses) were examined. A series of analyses (independent samples t-test, ANOVAs, and logistical regression) were conducted to test the hypotheses. The results suggested that students in this sample who reported experiencing broad sexual violence were more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors (i.e., heavy drinking, purging, attempted suicide, and deliberate self-injury) when compared to those who did not report experiencing sexual violence, supporting all related hypotheses. Further, as the degree of sexual violence increased, so did the odds of engaging in three of the four high-risk behaviors (purging, attempted suicide, and deliberate self-injury). The effect of gender was examined to determine whether men and women who experienced sexual violence had similar behavioral associations. It was hypothesized that being male would moderate the relationship between sexual violence and each high-risk behavior. These hypotheses were largely unsupported; however, there were a few instances where the more nuanced definition of sexual violence provided insight into male and female differences. Men who experienced sexual violence were more likely to engage in purging behaviors, and men who experienced severe sexual violence were more likely to engage in suicide attempts. Finally, the effect of race was examined to determine whether black individuals who experienced sexual violence were more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors than white individuals and other racial minorities. It was hypothesized that identifying as black would moderate the relationship between sexual violence and each high-risk behavior. These hypotheses were not supported, suggesting that being black did not significantly increase the odds of any high-risk behaviors compared to other minority and white individuals. The present study adds to the body of literature of sexual violence on college campuses and provides further evidence that examining sexual violence in a more nuanced way has merit. Comparing the outcomes between sexual violence broadly and as the degrees of sexual violence provided insight into the relationships between each high-risk behavior and the impact that different types of sexual violence can have on an individual. Understanding that there are individual differences in reactions to diverse types of sexual violence has clinical implications. Victim advocates working with individuals immediately after and/or in the months to follow the sexual violence incident are in a particularly special position to assist victims in the coping process. This study demonstrated that generally, the likelihood of engaging in problematic coping increased as the severity of sexual violence increased. The study also provided valuable information regarding gender differences in associations between sexual violence and high-risk behaviors. To date, most of the research regarding male victims of sexual violence has a primary focus on documenting its existence. A strength of the present study is that it moved beyond reporting prevalence and demonstrated that male victims of sexual violence also have increased high-risk behaviors. Acknowledging the problem of sexual violence in our society has been the first step. Understanding the specific behavioral associations of individuals who have experienced sexual violence is the second step. This is essential in order to help to effectively and responsibly inform victim advocates, health and mental health professionals, campus police, and Title IX investigators how to respond to victims of sexual violence given their unique needs and vulnerabilities. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2016. / April 19, 2016. / heavy drinking, higher education, purging, self-injury, sexual violence, suicide attempt / Includes bibliographical references. / Tomi Gomory, Professor Directing Dissertation; Pamela Keel, University Representative; Dina J. Wilke, Committee Member; Stephen Tripodi, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_366123 |
| Contributors | Stephens, Sara Groff (authoraut), Gomory, Tomi (professor directing dissertation), Keel, Pamela K., 1970- (university representative), Wilke, Dina J. (committee member), Tripodi, Stephen J. (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Social Work (degree granting college), College of Social Work (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (139 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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