Exploring the Experience of Abuse of College Students with Disabilities

Background / Purpose

Intimate partner violence and sexual assault of college students has garnered increased attention and publicity. Current studies have focused primarily on general campus populations with little to no attention to students with disabilities. While studies suggest the rate of abuse of individuals with disabilities is similar or higher compared to the general population, there remains a lack of focus on this issue. Individuals with disabilities are at particularly high risk for abuse, both through typical forms of violence (physical, sexual, emotional, and economic) and those that target one’s disability. In an effort highlight and explore this issue further, an exploratory study was conducted to learn the rates of abuse among university students who have identified as having a disability.

Methods

 This is a cross-sectional survey of 101 students of students with disabilities from a large northeastern public university. Experiences of abuse were measured through the use of the Abuse Assessment Screen- Disability (AAS-D) scale. Students were asked about experiences of physical, sexual, psychological, and disability related abuse within the last year and help seeking behaviors when an incident of abuse occurred.

Results

We found that 22 % of participants reported some form of abuse over the last and nearly 62% (n= 63) had experienced some form of physical or sexual abuse before the age of 17. Those who were abused in the past year, 40% reported little or no knowledge of abuse-related resources and only 27% reported the incident. Authors discuss implications results have for programs and policies on campus for individuals with disabilities.

Conclusions and Implications

Universities should be prepared to offer students with disabilities information on the potential for victimization. Information packets on types of abuse, both typical forms and disability- related abuse, should be included at admissions or when the student first registers with the department. An educational pamphlet that lists the signs of abuse and potential red flags would help to educate people with disabilities on the various forms of abuse. Additionally, college Offices of Disability Services should provide the necessary information and referrals for those who report childhood experiences of abuse. Considering the high rates of abuse of children with disabilities many of those entering college will likely present with unaddressed and unresolved issues of past abuse that could negatively affect their educational performance and place them at risk for adult experiences of abuse and sexual assault. Additionally, we continue to need increased collaboration between services that fill the gap between disability and student and mental health services. Counseling and mental health services for those with disabilities need to be offered in a way that accommodates their needs. These accommodations should not only include the obvious physical requirements set out by the ADA, but also attitudinal accommodations as well. These include being open and aware to the needs of each unique person with a disability.