Sexual orientation and sexual assault victimization among US college students

The opinions, findings, and conclusions presented in this article are those of the authors, and are in no way meant to represent the corporate opinions, views, or policies of the American College Health Association (ACHA). ACHA does not warrant nor assume any liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information presented in this article.

Abstract

Sexual victimization continues to be a problem on college campuses across the United States. Research on risk focuses on victimization of heterosexual women while that of sexual minority students is under-studied. The current study uses National College Health Assessment data to examine the relationship between sexual identity and four measures of self-reported sexual victimization. Several victimization correlates identified in prior research are included in analyses. Logistic regression results show that gay men and bisexual men and women were more likely compared to heterosexuals to report all four victimization types, and unsure students are more likely to report three types. However, lesbian students are no more likely than heterosexual students to report any sexual victimization. Also, transgendered students were more likely compared to female students to report three victimization types.

Keywords:

• Sexual orientation
• Sexual victimization

Notes

The opinions, findings, and conclusions presented in this article are those of the authors, and are in no way meant to represent the corporate opinions, views, or policies of the American College Health Association (ACHA). ACHA does not warrant nor assume any liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information presented in this article.

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2 Tel.: [phone].

1 While the data are five years old, the authors do not believe that they are significantly dated. As of this writing, the most recently available data from the ACHA are from 2013. Since there were no major changes in the survey from 2009 to 2013 (none that affect the data used in this analysis), the authors decided to retain the 2009 data.

2 Only victimization that occurred during the last 12 months were reported. Thus, these rates are smaller than the college career or lifetime rates often reported in the literature.

3 Preliminary bivariate analyses were also conducted (missing data excluded). Chi-square results showed that women were significantly more likely compared to men to report all four victimization types. Also, Chi-square results of analyses of dichotomous sexual minority status showed that sexual minorities other than lesbians usually had significantly higher victimization rates as compared to all others.