Intimate partner violence, trauma, and mental health need among female community college students

ABSTRACT

Objective: The impact of interpersonal violence on college students has received considerable attention, yet no studies have been conducted among community college students, who comprise 40% of all American college students, and have unique risk factors and needs. Community College students are more likely to be women, people of color, working, parenting, and first generation college students. Participants: Data were collected from a simple random sample from four community colleges (n=435). Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative survey was used to assess the extent of intimate partner violence, trauma exposure, sexual violence, and associated mental health consequences among female students. Results: Over 27% of participants reported IPV in the past year, while 25% reported sexual assault and 34% reported other uncomfortable sexual experiences in their lifetime. Nearly 20%of participants were currently reporting PTSD symptoms. Conclusions: Community Colleges should work with service providers to build their capacity to respond to students' needs.

KEYWORDS:

• Community college
• intimate partner violence
• sexual violence
• trauma

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of United States and received approval from the International Review Board of Washington University in St. Louis, MO.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation, part of the New York Community Trust.