Sexual violence victimization among American college students studying abroad

Abstract

Objective: Research has just begun to identify American college students who study abroad as a group at-risk for sexual violence victimization. The purpose of the current study was to examine the context of these incidents. Participants: We utilized a large longitudinal sample of 2,428 United States college students studying abroad for between 4 and 21 weeks in 12 different foreign countries. Methods: We estimated descriptive statistics and logistic regression models to assess prevalence and correlates of sexual victimization abroad, as well as effect size comparisons to quantify changes in drinking abroad. Results: Over one-fifth of students experienced sexual violence while abroad, including sexual assault and verbal coercion. Women, younger students, those who experienced sexual violence prior, and heavier drinkers had the greatest odds of sexual violence victimization abroad. Conclusions: Findings point to the need for evidence-based programming to reduce sexual violence risk among American college students studying in foreign countries.

Keywords:

• Alcohol
• drinking
• foreign countries
• sexual assault
• study abroad

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 RAND Human Subjects Protections Committee.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) (R01AA025909, “Online Intervention to Prevent Risky Behaviors During College Student Study Abroad Experiences”) awarded to Eric R. Pedersen. The authors wish to thank the 3C Institute for online survey hosting and Michael Woodward for assistance with data collection and retention efforts.