Prevalence and sociodemographic factors associated with stalking victimization among college students

Abstract

Objective: This study’s purpose was to examine the prevalence and sociodemographic factors associated with stalking victimization among a diverse sample of college students. Participants: Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey administered in November 2015 to students 18 and older on 8 academic universities in a Southwestern university system (N = 26,417). Methods: Descriptive statistics were used to assess the prevalence of stalking experiences across student populations. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine associations between sociodemographic factors and stalking victimization. Results: A total of 17.4% of students reported stalking victimization since entering college. Cisgender females, transgender/gender-nonconforming, and sexual minority students had higher odds of stalking victimization than their counterparts, whereas Latino/a students had lower odds of stalking victimization compared to White nonHispanic students. Conclusions: A notable proportion of college students have experienced stalking. Disparities found among student populations are concerning and warrant further investigation.

Keywords:

• Administration
• gender
• mental health

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 University of Texas, Austin.

Additional information

Funding

The University of Texas System Board of Regents funded this study.