Campus-Level Variation in the Prevalence of Student Experiences of Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence

Background and Purpose: Despite the frequently cited statistic that 20% of female undergraduate students will experience sexual assault during college, the prevalence rate of sexual assault and intimate partner violence actually varies widely across campuses.  Researchers have rarely explored what might account for this variation in rates nor how campus-level factors may be associated with prevalence rates. This study explores campus-level factors that may influence the campus rate of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.  Institutional characteristics, student body characteristics, and other student-related contextual factors are used to predict campus rates of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

Method: We used data from the National College Health Assessment (NCHA), a health and wellness survey administered on over a hundred campuses every year. For each campus in the sample, we used NCHA provided variables about the campus and computed campus level variables by aggregating the individual data for each campus.  Using data derived from 474 campuses that administered the National College Health Assessment between Spring 2011 and Fall 2015, we conducted linear regression models to assess which of these campus-level variables significantly predicted campus rates of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.  Variables were entered in sequential blocks, beginning with institutional characteristics like campus enrollment size, continuing with student body characteristics like the percentage of the student body that is female, and ending with variables related to student related contextual variables like the percentage of students who report binge drinking.  

Results: The full regression models predicting campus rates of sexual assault and intimate partner violence were both significant and explained a total of 72% and 57% of the variance, respectively.  The strongest campus-level predictors of higher campus sexual assault rates included higher campus rates of binge drinking, higher proportions of sexual minority students, lower student mean age, and higher proportions of students reporting experiences of discrimination.  The strongest campus-level predictors of higher campus intimate partner violence rates include greater average number of sexual partners, lower rates of binge drinking, older students, and lower proportions of full time students. 

Conclusions and Implications: This study contributes to a small but growing body of research that explores campus variation in sexual and intimate partner violence. Identification of campus-level factors that are associated with higher risk suggests both that campuses may have varying needs and that prevention should also address campus risk and protective factors, in addition to typical individual level prevention approaches.  Future research should continue to explore campus level variation, as well as the interplay between individual level risk and protective factors and campus level risk and protective factors.