Is bringing one’s own alcohol to parties protective or risky? A prospective examination of sexual victimization among first-year college women

Abstract

Objective

This study assessed whether college women who bring their own alcohol to parties (BYOB) are less vulnerable to sexual victimization (SV). Participants: Participants were 652 female freshmen (M age = 18.04 years) at a large, public university. Methods: Women were recruited by email to complete online surveys of their drinking-related behaviors and sexual experiences in September (T1) and November (T2) of their first college semester. Results: Approximately 47% of our sample reported BYOB. Women who reported BYOB more frequently at T1 were more likely to report SV at T2 when accounting for risk factors, including prior SV, heavy episodic drinking, and hookups. Specifically, BYOB predicted contact and rape, but not coercion. Conclusions: Findings suggested BYOB does not prevent college SV, but rather may increase risk. We encourage college health professionals and researchers to target BYOB to better understand this common behavior and help students recognize potential for associated harm.

Keywords:

• Alcohol consumption
• risky drinking
• sexual victimization
• women

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 the United States and received approval from the IRB of the University at Buffalo.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) grant R34 AA024854 awarded to Dr. Maria Testa and grant T32 AA007583 awarded to Dr. Kenneth Leonard.