Campus climate surveys: Towards a unified approach to measuring campus rape and sexual assault

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this analysis is to develop a scale to better capture the campus climate with regard to attitudes supportive of sexual assault and rape. Using a 29-item questionnaire, this study examines principal dimensions within student attitudes to a broad set of issues related to rape and sexual assault. Our findings point to a factorial structure comprised of four main underlying constructs, each of which is related to one or more elements of campus rape and sexual assault, and, thus, should be captured by any instrument used to measure campus climate. Additional validation of the factor solution and the questionnaire is needed, including comparisons with other representative campus samples.

KEYWORDS:

• Campusrape and sexual assault
• campus climate
• campus climate surveys
• measurement of rape and sexual assault
• student attitudes
• student attitudes towards rape
• sexual assault

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Trish Oberweis

Trish Oberweis is Professor of Criminal Justice Studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Her concern about sexual assault prevention and other forms of gendered violence is reflected in her teaching, research and service. Past publications have focused on campus sexual assaults, rape consciousness, special student populations, drug policy and legal consciousness, among other areas. Her doctorate in Justice Studies was awarded by Arizona State University.

Ekaterina Gorislavsky

Ekaterina Gorislavsky is Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Her research interests include sexual victimization, its prevalence and predictors, measurement of rape and sexual assault in various settings, victimization rates and trends.

Kevin Cannon is Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. His research has been focused on LGBT issues in criminal justice education, publishing in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education and The Handbook of LGBT Communities, Crime, and Justice.

Kevin Cannon

Kevin Cannon is Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. His research has been focused on LGBT issues in criminal justice education, publishing in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education and The Handbook of LGBT Communities, Crime, and Justice.