Student reports of attendance at programs to reduce campus sexual assault and harassment

Abstract

Objective

To identify factors independently associated with program participation and knowledge of campus processes to address sexual assault and harassment complaints.

Participants

1,182 undergraduates who completed the University of Michigan’s 2015 campus climate survey on topics of sexual assault and harassment (67% response rate).

Methods

We analyze survey responses to estimate multivariable models that identify subgroups of the student population least likely to have participated in programs or to know campus processes.

Results

Students living off campus, not involved in major organizations, and males are less likely to report attending programming. Students not involved in major organizations and females are less likely to report knowing campus processes.

Conclusions

Specific student subpopulations are more difficult to engage in programs designed to reduce sexual assault and harassment. Targeting additional effort to these groups may improve campus sexual climate. Careful analyses of campus climate survey data can help construct campus-specific priorities for these interventions.

Keywords:

• Sexual assault
• sexual harassment
• prevention programs
• program engagement

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 Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board of the University of Michigan.

Notes

1 The literature on factors that contribute to the prevalence of sexual assault and harassment at colleges and universities covers a broad range of interrelated topics. Ethnographic and focus group research indicates that these factors include scripted gender roles and sexual double standards, young adult hookup culture, and binge alcohol consumption.^11–21 These insights into the social context of sexual assault and harassment form a critical frame for survey measurement of prevalence and key risk factors.

2 This response rate is substantially higher than most student campus climate surveys.¹

3 We also estimated these models separately for males and females. In the simple model, we found females who attended any programming were twice as likely to report awareness of the process as females who did not attend programming (1.92; p<.01). In the full model, controlling for demographics and university-specific characteristics, females who attended any programming were still significantly more likely to report awareness (1.76; p<.01). In the male-only model, males who attended programming were not significantly more likely to report awareness than males who did not report attending programming. We discuss implications of these gender differences below.

4 Our use of the “any program” measure does not require students to recall the name of the program they attended, so it is likely characterized by less recall error than measures of attendance at specific programs, either Community Matters or Relationship Remix.

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported in part by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) (T32HD007339) and an NICHD center grant to the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan (P2CHD041028). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.