Factors Influencing College Students’ Perceptions of Sexual Violence on Campus: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine how participant, aggressor, and survivor variables as well as form of aggression influence college students’ perception of sexual aggression in terms of seriousness, responsibility, and appropriate reporting behaviors, actions to protect the survivor and enforce consequences for the aggressor. Previous research indicates that the majority of reported sexual assault cases on college campuses involved alcohol use by either the victim, the perpetrator, or in some cases, both. In this study, four different scenarios were created, consisting of four different forms of aggression wherein both aggressor and survivor were consuming alcohol. These four scenarios were then combined with images, in which the race of the aggressor and race of the target were varied to create 16 different scenarios. The results indicated that the form of aggression and the race of the victim and aggressor did not influence students’ perceptions of the seriousness of the aggression. However, there were significant differences into whom students recommended reporting, strategies to protect the survivor and consequences for the aggressor. Findings indicated both gender differences and racial biases in terms of recommended consequences for the aggressor. Implications for program development and improvement as well as future research recommendations are discussed.