Dating Violence,Sexual Assault,and Sexual Harassment Victimization Among Girls on an Indian Reservation: An Examination of Rates and Risk and Protective Factors

Abstract

We documented the scope and correlates of past 6-month victimization among middle and high school girls on an Indian Reservation. Participants were 102 Native American girls in Grades 6-12. Rates of all forms of past 6-month victimization were higher for high school girls compared with middle school girls. In regression analyses, binge drinking related to higher rates of sexual assault and sexual harassment. Furthermore, connection to culture related to lower rates of sexual harassment, and efficacy to resist a sexual assault was related to lower rates of sexual assault and sexual harassment.

Keywords

sexual assault Native American dating violence risk factors protective factors

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

AAUW Educational Foundation Sexual Harassment Task Force. (2001). Harassment-free hallways: How to stop sexual harassment in schools.

Abbey

Zawacki

Buck

P. O.

Clinton

A. M.

McAuslan

(2001). Alcohol and sexual assault. Alcohol Research & Health, 25(1), 43–51.

Abbey

Zawacki

Buck

P. O.

Clinton

A. M.

McAuslan

(2004). Sexual assault and alcohol consumption: What do we know about their relationship and what types of research are still needed? Aggression and Violent Behavior, 9(3), 271–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-1789(03)00011-9

Abbey

Zawacki

Buck

P. O.

Testa

Parks

K. A.

Norris

Martin

S. E.

Livingston

J. A.

McAuslan

Clinton

A. M.

Kennedy

C. L.

George

W. H.

Davis

K. C.

Martell

(2002). How does alcohol contribute to sexual assault? Explanations from laboratory and survey data. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 26(4), 575–581. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2002.tb02576.x

Allison

P. D.

(2002). Missing data. Sage.

Banyard

V. L.

Eckstein

R. P.

Moynihan

M. M.

(2010). Sexual violence prevention: The role of stages of change. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25(1), 111–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260508329123

Black

M. C.

Basile

K. C.

Breiding

M. J.

Smith

S. G.

Walters

M. L.

Merrick

M. T.

Chen

Stevens

M. R.

(2011). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NVSVS): 2010 summary report. https://www.nsvrc.org/publications/NISVS-2010-summary-report#:~:text=2010%20Summary%20Report-,The%20National%20Intimate%20Partner%20and%20Sexual%20Violence,NISVS)%3A%202010%20Summary%20Report&text=The%20NISVS%202010%20summary%20report,stalking%2C%20and%20intimate%20partner%20violence.

Brave Heart

M. Y.

(2003). The historical trauma response among natives and its relationship with substance abuse: A Lakota illustration. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 35(1), 7–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2003.10399988

Briones

T. L.

Woods

(2013). Chronic binge-like alcohol consumption in adolescence causes depression-like symptoms possibly mediated by the effects of BDNF on neurogenesis. Neuroscience, 254, 324–334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.09.031

10.

Bronfenbrenner

(1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513–531. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.32.7.513

11.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). Youth risk behavior surveillance — United States, 2013. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6304a1.htm

12.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). 2019 YRBS results. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm

13.

Cook-Craig

P. G.

Coker

A. L.

Clear

E. R.

Garcia

L. S.

Bush

H. M.

Brancato

C. J.

Williams

C. M.

Fisher

B. S.

(2014). Challenge and opportunity in evaluating a diffusion-based active by standing prevention program green dot in high schools. Violence Against Women, 20(10), 1179–1202. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801214551288

14.

Cuevas

C. A.

Sabina

Bell

K. A.

(2012). The effect of acculturation and immigration on the victimization and psychological distress link in a national sample of Latino women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27(8), 1428–1456. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260511425797

15.

Dardis

C. M.

Dixon

K. J.

Edwards

K. M.

Turchik

J. A.

(2015). An examination of the factors related to dating violence perpetration among young men and women and associated theoretical explanations: A review of the literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 16, 136–152. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838013517559

16.

Decker

M. R.

Wood

S. N.

Ndinda

Yenokyan

Sinclair

Maksud

Ross

Omondi

Ndirangu

(2018). Sexual violence among adolescent girls and young women in Malawi: A cluster-randomized controlled implementation trial of empowerment self-defense training. BMC Public Health, 18, Article 1341. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6220-0

17.

Eaton

D. K.

Brener

Kann

L. K.

(2008). Associations of health risk behaviors with school absenteeism. Does having permission for the absence make a difference? Journal of School Health, 78(4), 223–229. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2008.00290.x

18.

Edwards

K. M.

Gidycz

C. A.

Murphy

M. J.

(2011). College women’s stay/leave decisions in abusive dating relationships: A prospective analysis of an expanded investment model. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(7), 1446–1462. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260510369131

19.

Edwards

K. M.

Neal

A. M.

(2017). School and community characteristics related to dating violence victimization among high school youth. Psychology of Violence, 7(2), 203–212. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000065

20.

Edwards

K. M.

Siller

Wheeler

Al Leader Charger

Leader Charge

Bourdeaux

Herrington

Hofauf

Simon

(2021). Effectiveness of a sexual assault self-defense program for American Indian girls. Journal of Intpersonal Violence. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260521997942

21.

Elliott

Kao

Grant

(2004). Mattering: Empirical validation of a social-psychological concept. Self and Identity, 3(4), 339–354. https://doi.org/10.1080/13576500444000119

22.

Enders

C. K.

(2010). Applied missing data analysis. The Guilford Press.

23.

Espelage

D. L.

Bosworth

Simon

T. R.

(2000). Examining the social context of bullying behaviors in early adolescence. Journal of Counseling & Development, 78(3), 326–333. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.2000.tb01914.x

24.

Fisher

B. S.

Daigle

L. E.

Cullen

F. T.

Santana

S. A.

(2007). Assessing the efficacy of the protective action–completion nexus for sexual victimizations. Violence and Victims, 22(1), 18–42. https://doi.org/10.1891/vv-v22i1a002

25.

Flett

G. L.

(2018). Mattering in the community. In Flett

G. L.

(Ed.), The psychology of mattering (pp. 265–278). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-809415-0.00012-8

26.

Fossos

Kaysen

Neighbors

Lindgren

K. P.

Hove

M. C.

(2011). Coping motives as a mediator of the relationship between sexual coercion and problem drinking in college students. Addictive Behaviors, 36(10), 1001–1007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2011.06.001

27.

Foster

Hagan

Brooks-Gunn

(2004). Age, puberty, and exposure to intimate partner violence in adolescence. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1036(1), 151–166. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1330.009

28.

Franklin

C. A.

Menaker

T. A.

(2018). Feminist routine activity theory and sexual assault victimization: Estimating risk by perpetrator tactic among sorority women. Victims & Offenders, 13(2), 158–178. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2016.1250692

29.

Gidycz

C. A.

Loh

Lobo

Rich

Lynn

S. J.

Pashdag

(2007). Reciprocal relationships among alcohol use, risk perception, and sexual victimization: A prospective analysis. Journal of American College Health, 56(1), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.3200/JACH.56.1.5-14

30.

Gidycz

C. A.

McNamara

J. R.

Edwards

K. M.

(2006). Women’s risk perception and sexual victimization: A review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 11(5), 441–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2006.01.004

31.

Gidycz

C. A.

Orchowski

L. M.

Edwards

K. M.

(2011). Primary prevention of sexual violence (Vol. 2). American Psychological Association.

32.

Gidycz

C. A.

Van Wynsberghe

Edwards

K. M.

(2008). Prediction of women’s utilization of resistance strategies in a sexual assault situation: A prospective study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23(5), 571–588. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260507313531

33.

Grayson

C. E.

Nolen-Hoeksema

(2005). Motives to drink as mediators between childhood sexual assault and alcohol problems in adult women. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18, 137–145. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20021

34.

Grych

Hamby

S. L.

Banyard

V. L.

(2015). The resilience portfolio model: Understanding healthy adaptation in victims of violence. Psychology of Violence, 5(4), 343–354. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039671

35.

Hamby

S. L.

Grych

(2013). The web of violence: Exploring connections among different forms of interpersonal violence and abuse. Springer Science + Business Media.

36.

Hollander

J. A.

(2018). Women’s self-defense and sexual assault resistasne: The state of the field. Sociology Compass, 12(8), Article e12597. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12597

37.

Howard

Mitchell

M. E.

(1993). Preventing teenage pregnancy: Some questions to be answered and some answers to be questioned. Pediatric Annals, 22(2), 109–118. https://doi.org/10.3928/0090-4481-19930201-08

38.

Joseph

H. L.

Kuperminc

G. P.

(2020). Bridging the siloed fields to address shared risk for violence: Building an integrated intervention model to prevent bullying and teen dating violence. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 55, Article 101506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2020.101506

39.

Kann

McManus

Harris

W. A.

Shanklin

S. L.

Flint

K. H.

Hawkins

Queen

Lowry

Olsen

E. O.

Chyen

Whittle

Thornton

Liam

Yamakawa

Brener

Zaza

(2016). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 2015 [Morbidity and mortality weekly report]. Surveillance Summaries, Issue. C. f. D. C. a. Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/2015/ss6506_updated.pdf

40.

Kelley

E. L.

Orchowski

L. M.

Gidycz

C. A.

(2016). Sexual victimization among college women: Role of sexual assertiveness and resistance variables. Psychology of Violence, 6(2), 243–252. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039407

41.

Kenney

M. K.

Singh

G. K.

(2016). Adverse childhood experiences among American Indian/Alaska Native children: The 2011-2012 National Survey of Children’s Health. Scientifica, 2016, Article 7424239. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/7424239

42.

Koss

M. P.

Yuan

N. P.

Dightman

Prince

R. J.

Polacca

Sanderson

Goldman

(2003). Adverse childhood exposures and alcohol dependence among seven Native American tribes. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 25(3), 238–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0749-3797(03)00195-8

43.

LaFromboise

T. D.

Hoyt

Oliver

Les Whitbeck

(2006). Family, community, and school influences on resilience among American Indian adolescents in the upper Midwest. Journal of Community Psychology, 34(2), 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20090

44.

Les Whitbeck

Chen

Hoyt

D. R.

Adams

G. W.

(2004). Discrimination, historical loss and enculturation: Culturally specific risk and resiliency factors for alcohol abuse among American Indians. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 65(4), 409–418. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsa.2004.65.409

45.

Lipperman-Kreda

Finan

L. J.

Grube

J. W.

(2018). Social and situational characteristics associated with adolescents’ drinking at party and non-party events. Addictive Behaviors, 83, 148–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.12.001

46.

Lipperman-Kreda

Mair

C. F.

Bersamin

Gruenewald

P. J.

Grube

J. W.

(2015). Who drinks where: Youth selection of drinking contexts. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 39(4), 716–723. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.12670

47.

Mair

Lipperman-Kreda

Gruenewald

P. J.

Bersamin

Grube

J. W.

(2015). Adolescent drinking risks associated with specific drinking contexts. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 39(9), 1705–1711. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.12806

48.

Marshall

(2002). The Lakota way: Stories and lessons for living. Penguin.

49.

Miller

J. W.

Naimi

T. S.

Brewer

R. D.

Jones

S. E.

(2007). Binge drinking and associated health risk behaviors among high school students. Pediatrics, 119(1), 76–85. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-1517

50.

Mouilso

E. R.

Fischer

(2012). A prospective study of sexual assault and alcohol use among first-year college women. Violence and Victims, 27(1), 78–94. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.27.1.78

51.

Mustaine

E. E.

Tewksbury

(2002). Sexual assault of college women: A feminist interpretation of a routine activities analysis. Criminal Justice Review, 27(1), 89–123. https://doi.org/10.1177/073401680202700106

52.

Nurius

P. S.

Norris

(1996). A cognitive ecological model of women’s response to male sexual coercion in dating. Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality, 8(1–2), 117–139. https://doi.org/10.1300/J056v08n01_09

53.

Orchowski

L. M.

Edwards

K. M.

Hollander

J. A.

Banyard

V. L.

Senn

C. Y.

Gidycz

C. A.

(2018). Integrating sexual assault resistance, bystander, and men’s social norms strategies to prevent sexual violence on college campuses: A call to action. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 21(4), 811–827. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838018789153

54.

Rennison

C. M.

Welchans

(2000). Intimate partner violence: Bureau of Justice statistics special report. U.S. Department of Justice.

55.

Roscigno

V. J.

(2019). Discrimination, sexual harassment, and the impact of workplace power. Socius, 5, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023119853894

56.

Rutman

Park

Castor

Taualii

Forquera

(2008). Urban American Indian and Alaska native youth: Youth risk behavior survey 1997–2003. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 12(1), Article 76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-008-0351-3

57.

Sabina

Cuevas

C. A.

Schally

J. L.

(2013). The effect of immigration and acculturation on victimization among a national sample of Latino women. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 19(1), 13–26. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030500

58.

Sarnquist

Omondi

Sinclair

Gitau

Paiva

Mulinge

Cornfield

D. N.

Maldonado

(2014). Rape prevention through empowerment of adolescent girls. Pediatrics, 133(5), e1226–e1232. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-3414

59.

Schwartz

M. D.

DeKeseredy

W. S.

Tait

Alvi

(2001). Male peer support and a feminist routine activities theory: Understanding sexual assault on the college campus. Justice Quarterly, 18(3), 623–649. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418820100095041

60.

Schwartz

M. D.

Pitts

V. L.

(1995). Exploring a feminist routine activities approach to explaining sexual assault. Justice Quarterly, 12(1), 9–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418829500092551

61.

Sell

N. M.

Turrisi

Scaglione

N. M.

Cleveland

M. J.

Mallett

K. A.

(2018). Alcohol consumption and use of sexual assault and drinking protective behavioral strategies: A diary study. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 42(1), 62–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684317744198

62.

Senn

C. Y.

Eliasziw

Barata

P. C.

Thurston

W. E.

Newby-Clark

I. R.

Radtke

H. L.

Hobden

K. L.

(2015). Efficacy of a sexual assault resistance program for university women. New England Journal of Medicine, 372(24), 2326–2335. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa1411131

63.

Senn

C. Y.

Eliasziw

Hobden

K. L.

Newby-Clark

I. R.

Barata

P. C.

Radtke

H. L.

Thurston

W. E.

(2017). Secondary and 2-year outcomes of a sexual assault resistance program for university women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 41, 147–162. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684317690119

64.

Sessarego

S. N.

Siller

Edwards

K. M.

(2021). Patterns of violence victimization and perpetration among adolescents using latent class analysis. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(19–20), 9167–9186. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519862272

65.

Shorey

R. C.

Brasfield

Zapor

Febres

Stuart

G. L.

(2015). The relation between alcohol use and psychological and physical, and sexual dating violence perpetration among male and college student. Violence Against Women, 21(2), 151–164. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801214564689

66.

Shorey

R. C.

Moore

T. M.

McNulty

J. K.

Stuart

G. L.

(2016). Do alcohol and marijuana increase the risk for female dating violence victimization? A prospective daily diary investigation. Psychology of Violence, 6(4), 509–518. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039943

67.

Stappenbeck

C. A.

Gulati

N. K.

Fromme

(2016). Daily associations between alcohol consumption and dating violence perpetration among men and women: Effects of self-regulation. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 77(1), 150–159. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2016.77.150

68.

Stringer

(2018). The healing power of heritage: Interventions rooted in indigenous traditions are helping to prevent suicide and addiction in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Monitor on Psychology, 49(2), 44. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/02/cover-healing-heritage

69.

Teufel-Shone

N. I.

Tippens

J. A.

McCrary

H. C.

Ehiri

J. E.

Sanderson

P. R.

(2018). Resilience in American Indian and Alaska Native public health: An underexplored framework. American Journal of Health Promotion, 32(2), 274–281. https://doi.org/10.1177/0890117116664708

70.

Tingey

Cwik

Chambers

Goklish

Larzelere-Hinton

Suttle

Lee

Alchesay

Parker

Barlow

(2017). Motivators and influences on American Indian adolescent alcohol use and binge behavior: A qualitative exploration. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 26(1), 75–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/1067828X.2016.1210552

71.

Tuck

(2009). Suspending damage: A letter to communities. Harvard Educational Review, 79(3), 409–428.

72.

Turchik

J. A.

Probst

D. R.

Chau

Nigoff

Gidycz

C. A.

(2007). Factors predicting the type of tactics used to resist sexual assault: A prospective study of college women. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75(4), 605–614. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.75.4.605

73.

Ullrich

J. S.

(2019). For the love of our children: An Indigenous connectedness framework. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 15(2), 121–130. https://doi.org/10.1177/1177180119828114

74.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (n.d.). Sexual harassment. https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment

75.

Van Der Put

C. E.

Deković

Stams

G. J. J. M.

Van Der Laan

P. H.

Hoeve

Van Amelsfort

(2011). Changes in risk factors during adolescence: Implications for risk assessment. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 38(3), 248–262. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854810391757

76.

Waldron

J. C.

Wilson

L. C.

Patriquin

M. A.

Scarpa

(2015). Sexual victimization history, depression, and task physiology as predictors of sexual revictimization: Results from a 6-month prospective pilot study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30(4), 622–639. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260514535258

77.

Walters

K. L.

Simoni

J. M.

(2002). Reconceptualizing Native women’s health: An “indigenist” stress-coping model. American Journal of Public Health, 92(4), 520–524. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.92.4.520

78.

Walters

K. L.

Simoni

J. M.

Evans-Campbell

(2002). Substance use among American Indians and Alaska natives: Incorporating culture in an” indigenist” stress-coping paradigm. Public Health Reports, 117Suppl. 1), S104–S117.

79.

Waterman

E. A.

Lee

K. D. M.

Edwards

K. M.

(2019). Longitudinal associations of binge drinking with interpersonal violence among adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48, 1342–1352. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01035-w

80.

Waterman

E. A.

Siller

Dworkin

E. R.

Edwards

K. M.

(2021). The association of stalking victimization with adolescents’ depressed mood and mattering. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(23–24), 11768–11780. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519900945

81.

Wilkins

Tsao

Hertz

Davis

Klevens

(2014). Connecting the dots: An overview of the links among multiple forms of violence. C. f. D. C. a. P. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/connecting_the_dots-a.pdf

82.

Wolitzky-Taylor

K. B.

Ruggiero

K. J.

Danielson

C. K.

Resnick

H. S.

Hanson

R. F.

Smith

D. W.

Saunders

B. E.

Kilpatrick

D. G.

(2008). Prevalence and correlates of dating violence in a national sample of adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 47(7), 755–762. https://doi.org/10.1097/CHI.0b013e318172ef5f

83.

Wood

P. S.

Mallinckrodt

(1990). Culturally sensitive assertiveness training for ethnic minority clients. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 21(1), 5–11. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.21.1.5