Peer Disclosure of Campus Sexual Violence and Students' Capacity to Provide Support

Background and purpose: Campus Sexual Assault (CSA) represents a barrier to healthy development for youth, with numerous deleterious health and mental health outcomes well documented in the literature. Research suggests that those survivors who do tell someone about their experience tend to disclose to peers; however, peers are often unaware of resources on campus and how to respond.  Further research is needed regarding whether exposure to different types of information on CSA results in greater awareness and confidence for students to support their peers who disclose. Social workers have the potential to play an important role in the development, implementation, and evaluation of such efforts.

 Methods

The data for this study come from a larger campus climate assessment conducted online in November, 2014 at a public university in the Northeast, using data from undergraduate students (n= 7,459). A number of validated scales were utilized, based on the campus climate tool provided by the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. In addition, students were asked about their exposure to 19 different types of information about CSA (e.g., written information, prevention programs, class discussion, viewing posters). Lastly, a number of demongraphic questions were asked including gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual identity. Regression analyses were conducted to determine the impact of level of exposure to information on awareness of resources and confidence in knowing how to access assistance for CSA.

Results

Approximately one-fourth of all participants reported receiving at least one disclosure of CSA from another student. A total of 13.2% women and 3.3% of men reported experiences of sexual violence since coming to campus. Regressions indicate that when gender, race/ethnicity, and age were entered alone, they significantly predicted awareness and confidence but, as indicated by the R², explained only 2% of the variance for awareness and 1% for confidence. When level of exposure to information was added, it significantly improved the predictions: R² change = .2565, F(1, 7,451)=2642.16, p<.001; R² change = .1833, F(1, 7,451)=1692.31, p<.001, for awareness and confidence, respectively. The entire group of variables significantly predicted awareness of resources, F(7, 7451) =407.31 , p<.001, adjusted R² = .28 and confidence, F(7, 7,451) =254.21 , p<.001, adjusted R² = .19.

Conclusions and implications

This study provides a contribution to understanding the potential role of exposure to information about sexual violence, indicating that it significantly impacted the awareness of campus resources and confidence in where to go to seek assistance on campus. The current study lays a foundation for further studies to better investigate the role of exposure to information, and suggests that exposing students to information about sexual violence multiple times is an important strategy for campuses to consider.