Population and Subgroup Differences in the Prevalence and Predictors of Campus Sexual Assault to Inform Preventive Interventions

By Lisa Fedina; Rich Tolman; Todd Herrenkohl

This paper addresses gaps in available prevalence data on campus sexual assault rates found among women, including demographic differences among student groups and variations in characteristics of college campuses. The research study also investigated how attitudes and norms vary across college campuses and whether characteristics of those campuses can help explain variations in experiences at the individual (student) level, by analyzing data from the Sexual Assault Prevention for Undergraduates (SAPU) online sexual assault prevention education program. Data from SAPU includes a large, demographically diverse sample of college students, which allows for in-depth investigation of the prevalence and predictors of sexual assault victimization and perpetration across different types of college campuses; it also includes contemporaneous measures of sexual assault victimization and perpetration during the highest period of risk, early in students’ first year of college. The five stated aims of the research study were: to examine variation in school-level prevalence of sexual assault victimization and perpetration by school type, size, and region from academic year (AY) 2016-2017 to 2019-2020; to assess subgroup differences in school-level prevalence of sexual assault victimization and perpetration, accounting for school region, size, and type; to investigate the relationship between attitudes and perceptions of campus norms and self-reports of sexual assault victimization and perpetration, accounting for precampus sexual assault and individual demographics and school characteristics; to examine the variation in the relationship between attitudes and perceptions of campus norms and self-reports of sexual assault victimization and perpetration by subgroups, accounting for precampus sexual assault and individual and school characteristics; and to examine variation in bystander intentions, efficacy, and behaviors and self-reports of sexual assault victimization and perpetration by subgroups, accounting for attitudes, perceptions of campus norms, and precampus sexual assault, as well as individual and school characteristics. 

Final Report to the U.S. National Institute of Justice, 2024. 20p.