Prevalence and types of violence among college students with disabilities

Individuals with disabilities are at increased risk of being victims of violence; however, it remains unknown whether college students with disabilities are more likely to experience violence compared to their counterparts. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and types of violent events reported by U.S. college students with disabilities, and identify factors associated with their increased likelihood of violent experiences. Data collected from American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment II Survey in 2011 were used. Students were classified into five exclusive groups: no disability, physical disability only, mental disability only, both physical and mental disability, and other disability. Self-reported experience of ten types of violence was regrouped into physical, sexual, and other violence. A total of 21,615 college students were included in this analysis, with 67.3% females and 32.1% males. Of the total sample, 21.4% (n=4,634) reported one or more types of disabilities, with a similar percentage of females and males. Compared to students without disability, a significantly higher proportion of students with disabilities reported experiencing physical, sexual and other violence. This was true for both genders, except for males with physical only disabilities. Findings from logistic regression models showed that odds of experiencing violence by students with disabilities were significantly higher compared to students without disability, after controlling for demographic variables and mental health status. Our finding suggests a need for developing effective violence prevention programs that address unique violence risk in this special group of college students.