Risk for dating violence and sexual assault over time: The role of college and prior experiences with violence

Abstract

Objective: Despite increased research on emerging adults and interpersonal violence, evidence on the role of college attendance in risk for dating violence and sexual assault is mixed. We examined the role of college attendance on victimization risk in emerging adulthood. Participants: Participants were a diverse longitudinal sample of 630 emerging adults. Methods: We conducted regression analyses to examine the association of college attendance by type (community and public/private four year) with subsequent victimization, controlling for prior victimization and other factors. Results: Participants who attended public and private four-year colleges had significantly less risk for physical dating violence (OR = 0.35, p < 0.001), but not prior sexual or psychological dating violence or other sexual assault. Prior victimization was the most significant predictor of victimization in emerging adulthood. Conclusions: The context of higher education and prior victimization experience should be considered for addressing dating violence and sexual assault in emerging adulthood.

Keywords:

• Community college
• intimate partner violence
• rape
• sexual abuse

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 of America and received approval from the University of Texas Medical Branch.

Table 1. Demographics of study participants.

Table 2. Physical dating violence model.

Table 3. Sexual dating violence model.

Table 4. Psychological dating violence model.

Table 5. Other sexual assault model.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by grants from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, K23HD059916 (principal investigator: J.R.T.), and from the National Institute of Justice, 2012-WG-BX-0005 (principal investigator: J.R.T.).

Funding

This research was supported by grants from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, K23HD059916 (principal investigator: J.R.T.), and from the National Institute of Justice, 2012-WG-BX-0005 (principal investigator: J.R.T.).