An Exploration of Institutional Betrayal Following Gender-Based Violence Among College Students

Background and Purpose: Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a prevalent public health concern across the United States. Indeed, there are high prevalence rates of experiences of violence and associated mental distress, as well as negative impacts on academic achievement. Survivors of GBV may rely on both informal support and the institutions they are members of to provide guidance and resources to mitigate negative mental health outcomes. This is especially true for students at academic institutions, which contain both barriers and avenues to support. With roots in betrayal trauma, institutional betrayal reflects the failure of institutions to provide support to the individuals they serve, and this betrayal may be an additional challenge in survivor help-seeking. The current study aimed to explore institutional betrayal among undergraduate students who experienced GBV during their time at the university. Sociodemographic differences in experiences with institutional betrayal were explored, and associations were examined between institutional betrayal and academic and mental health outcomes.

Methods: Participants were 191 students in their first and second year of college at a large, public university in the Midwestern United States. Students were demographically diverse (e.g., 59.2% cisgender female, 37.7% cisgender male, 3.1% gender minority; 75% heterosexual; 54.5% White, 25.1%5 Asian or Asian American, 13.1% Black or African American, 16.2% Hispanic/Latinx). Online surveys were completed in the Spring of 2021. Descriptive statistics were calculated and examined by demographic factors. Multivariate regression analyses were run to examine associations between institutional betrayal and depression and anxiety symptoms and negative academic adjustment.

Results: Of students who experienced GBV, 25.7% reported experiencing a form of institutional betrayal. Institutional betrayal included perceptions that the university created an environment in which GBV seemed more likely to occur (17%) and an environment in which this type of experience seemed common or like no big deal (16%). About 8% felt the university was covering up the experience and 10% felt the university made it difficult to report the experience. Individuals with sexual minority identities were more likely to endorse institutional betrayal (c² = 6.14), compared to individuals who identified as heterosexual. Results also demonstrated a significant association between the endorsement of institutional betrayal and negative academic adjustment (B = -0.40).

Conclusions and Implications: These findings bring awareness to potential implications for a lack of institutional support to student survivors of GBV, particularly those who hold sexual minority identities. The university context continues to be a prominent focus in GBV research and action as both a temporally and structurally significant setting for sexual citizenship in young adults. Further investigation into institutional betrayal experiences offers opportunities for institutions to reflect on the ways their efforts to support GBV survivors are implemented and perceived in practice. Assessment of institutional betrayal represents a potential avenue for practitioners to collaborate with community stakeholders to understand the ways in which institutions are achieving supportive environments, and the ways in which to improve. Research expanding upon institutional betrayal should incorporate elements of institutional support to supplement the application and integration of the research and practice of GBV intervention.