Health Consequences of Sexual Assault and Violence as Reported by Male and Female College Students

The American College Health Association (ACHA) recognizes sexual violence as a serious campus and public health issue. This presentation examines health behaviors associated with sexual assault as reported by a sample of college men and women, and discusses plans for prevention. This study uses an exploratory design to examine the health behaviors related to sexual assault in a sample of college students. The sample was gathered from three different colleges/universities (n=1980). Human subjects' approval on all three campuses was obtained. Data was collected via e-mail and by paper and pencil methods. SPSS 19 was used to analyze the data. Three health behaviors and one health consequence related to sexual violence were investigated. The findings were as follows: smoking and perception of health status were not found to be related to sexual assault; however alcohol use and sexually transmitted diseases (health consequence) were found to be significantly related to sexual assault. In conclusion, two of the three health behaviors and the one health consequence identified in the study were found to be significantly related to sexual assault. Alcohol use was found to be a significant health risk behavior for sexual assault; with 66% of females and 68% of males drinking at alcohol misuse levels. Because of the relationship between alcohol use and sexual violence, these findings will be used to plan and implement prevention programs on campus.