Heidi L. Scherer

Intimate Partner Victimization Among College Students With and Without Disabilities: Prevalence of and Relationship to Emotional Well-Being

Prior research indicates that both college students and individuals with disabilities are at an increased risk of experiencing intimate partner victimization (IPV). However, little is known about IPV risk and its relationship to emotional well-being among the intersection of these two populations. Utilizing a sample of approximately 20,000 college students from the American College Health Association’s (ACHA) National College Health Assessment II (NCHA II), this study focuses on this overlooked intersection by examining IPV among college students with disabilities. Multivariate binary logistic regression models were used to estimate the relationship among disability, IPV, and emotional well-being. College students with disabilities were approximately twice as likely to experience IPV than their counterparts without disabilities. Students with mental disabilities and multiple disability types were found to have the greatest likelihood of experiencing IPV. Victims with disabilities were more likely than victims without disabilities to report experiencing depression symptoms, self-harm behavior, and stress. Recommendations for reducing and preventing IPV among a college student population are discussed.

A Gendered Approach to Understanding Intimate Partner Victimization and Mental Health Outcomes Among College Students With and Without Disability

A number of studies have reported that college students and individuals with disabilities are at risk for experiencing intimate partner victimization (IPV). Little is known about IPV among the intersection of these populations, college students with disabilities. Using data from a nationally representative sample of college students, this study estimates the extent of IPV among male and female college students with and without disabilities. Both males and females with disabilities experienced a greater risk of IPV than those without disability, and this risk appeared to be similar across the sexes. Furthermore, disability was a significant predictor of negative mental health outcomes among male and female IPV victims. Policy and prevention implications that take into consideration gender and disability are discussed.

Unsafe in the Camouflage Tower: Sexual Victimization and Perceptions of Military Academy Leadership

Few studies have examined sexual victimization among cadets and midshipmen at the three U.S. Military Academies. Self-report data from the 2005 Service Academy Sexual Assault Survey of Cadets and Midshipmen (n = 5,220) were used to examine the extent of unwanted sexual attention, sexual harassment, unwanted sexual contact, sexual coercion, and rape within the last academic year and their effects on cadets’ and midshipmen’s perceptions of their leadership’s morality and intolerance for sexual victimization. About 60% of cadets and midshipmen experienced at least one type of sexual victimization and 25% reported that they had experienced polyvictimization (e.g., two or more types). Eighty-six percent of female and 42% of male cadets and midshipmen were sexually victimized. Those who were sexually victimized had significantly more negative views of their leadership’s morality and intolerance for sexual victimization than nonvictims. Cadets and midshipmen who reported experiencing polyvictimization were more likely to perceive leadership as less moral and more tolerant of sexual victimization than those experiencing a single type. This pattern also was observed for gender-specific models; both male and female victims reported more negative perceptions of leadership. Implications concerning the effects of sexual victimization on military leadership are discussed.

Interpersonal Violence among College Students: Does Sexual Orientation Impact Risk of Victimization?.

ABSTRACT Researchers have shown that college students are at an increased risk of experiencing interpersonal violence (IV). One factor that appears to play a role in shaping their likelihood of IV is sexual orientation. However, little is known about this relationship and how IV risk varies across categories of sexual orientation. Utilizing a sample of approximately 43,000 college students from the American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment II, this study examined the prevalence of IV across five categories of self-identified sexual orientation and examined whether sexual orientation was a predictor of IV. Results indicated that, on average, students who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning were significantly more likely to experience IV than their heterosexual counterparts. Implications for prevention and future research are discussed.

Stalking Victimization Among College Students: The Role of Disability Within a Lifestyle-Routine Activity Framework

This study utilized the routine activity perspective and incorporated measures of disability to examine the underexplored relationship between disability status and stalking victimization. Survey data from approximately 43,000 college students from across the United States were examined to explore these relationships. Results indicated that disability was a significant risk factor for victimization. Consistent with theoretical expectations, several measures of lifestyles and routine activities also were found to increase risk of stalking victimization, including volunteering, employment, and risk-taking behaviors such as alcohol and drug use. Collectively, the results suggest that measures of disability should be incorporated into future research testing the routine activities perspective for interpersonal victimization.

Disability Type and Risk of Sexual and Stalking Victimization in a National Sample: A Lifestyle–Routine Activity Approach:

Research findings from national samples indicate that people with disabilities have a higher risk of sexual and stalking victimization than their counterparts without disabilities. While this body of research indicates that disability is a risk factor for interpersonal victimization independent of known risk factors derived from the lifestyle–routine activity perspective, it has not yet been established whether the risk factors of victimization vary across disability type. Using survey data from approximately 40,000 college students from across the United States, this study addresses this issue by examining lifestyle–routine activity risk factors for victimization among subsamples of individuals with no disability, physical disabilities, mental disabilities, and learning disabilities. Results from multivariate binary logistic regression analyses indicate that risk factors for victimization vary across groups, with the greatest number of significant risk factors observed for students with no disabilities.