Abstract
A latent class approach to understanding associations between adolescents' sports participation, substance use, dismissive attitudes, and sexual violence perpetration
Katherine Ingram, MS1, Kathleen C. Basile, PhD2, Ruth Leemis, MPH3, Dorothy L. Espelage, PhD4 and Alberto Valido, BS1
(1)University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, (2)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, (3)University of Georgia, Chamblee, GA, (4)Chapel Hill, NC
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Sexual violence (SV) among adolescents is associated with numerous health consequences. Research, predominantly with male collegiate samples, has suggested an association between sports participation and SV perpetration and has included other important risk factors such as substance use and attitudes. However, more research is needed among adolescents. The current study uses latent class analysis (LCA) to examine data-driven classes of high school student athletes (N = 665) engaged in three risk factor areas for SV: sport contact level, self- reported likelihood of substance use in the next 6 months (cigarettes, marijuana, alcohol, vape products), and attitudes dismissive of SV. Once classes were enumerated and fit separately for male and female samples, pairwise comparisons were conducted on scores on two forms of SV (perpetration of sexual harassment, unwanted sexual contact) as a function of class membership. A 5-class solution was retained for both males and females. In the female sample, regarding sexual harassment, we found that those most likely to perpetrate sexual harassment were those characterized by high likelihood to use substances, and those who played any type of sport. Too few females endorsed perpetration of unwanted sexual contact for pairwise comparisons to be conducted. For males, the classes most likely to perpetrate both forms of SV were those who were likely to endorse high likelihood to use substances, endorse attitudes dismissive of SV, and play any type of sport but especially high contact sports. These findings implicate high school athletic spaces as potentially important venues for sexual violence prevention efforts.
Epidemiology Social and behavioral sciences