“Hardly Able to Move,Much Less Open a Book”: A Systematic Review of the Impact of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Victimization on Educational Trajectories
Restricted accessReview articleFirst published online April, 2024
“Hardly Able to Move,Much Less Open a Book”: A Systematic Review of the Impact of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Victimization on Educational Trajectories
Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is a highly prevalent issue, both in North America and globally, with well-recognized adverse impact on survivors’ physical, emotional, and economic well-being. The objective of this systematic review is to collect and synthesize empirical work on the effects of SGBV victimization on educational trajectories, goals, attainment, and outcomes. The review summarizes what is known about factors associated with victimization that affect survivors’ educational trajectories and highlights gaps in the literature pertaining to the effects of victimization on education. Five databases were searched for this review: Web of Science, Sociological Abstracts, PubMed, APA PsycInfo, and ERIC. For inclusion, the articles must present research on the academic impact of any form of SGBV experienced in higher education and must have been conducted in the United States or Canada. The 68 studies that met these criteria presented research on six key areas of educational outcomes: impacts on academic performance and motivation; attendance, dropout, and avoidance; changes in major/field of study; academic disengagement; educational attitudes and satisfaction; and academic climate and institutional relationships. Research also revealed factors mediating the relationship between SGBV exposure and educational outcomes such as mental health, physical health, social support, socioeconomic status, and resiliency, which we summarize in a pathway model. The research reviewed had significant limitations, including weak study designs, limited generalizability, and diversity concerns. We offer recommendations for future research on this topic.
AmarA. F. (2006). College women’s experience of stalking: Mental health symptoms and changes in routines. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 20(3), 108–116.
2.
ArriaA. M.BarrallA. L.VincentK. B.BugbeeB. A.O’GradyK. E. (2020). Development of the measure of obstacles to succeeding academically in college (MOSAIC). Journal of College Student Development, 61(1), 103–108.
3.
ArtimeT. M.BuchholzK. R.JakupcakM. (2018). Mental health symptoms and treatment utilization among trauma-exposed college students. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 11(3), 274–282.
4.
BanyardV. L.DemersJ. M.CohnE. S.EdwardsK. M.MoynihanM. M.WalshW. A.WardS. K. (2020). Academic correlates of unwanted sexual contact, intercourse, stalking, and intimate partner violence: An understudied but important consequence for college students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(21–22), 4375–4392.
5.
BarlingJ.DekkerI.LoughlinC. A.KellowayE. K.FullagarC.JohnsonD. (1996). Prediction and replication of the organizational and personal consequences of workplace sexual harassment. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 11(5), 4–25.
6.
BensonD. J.ThomsonG. E. (1982). Sexual harassment on a university campus: The confluence of authority relations, sexual interest and gender stratification. Social Problems, 29(3), 236–251.
7.
BlackDeerA. A.WolfD.Beeler-StinnS.DuranB. (2020). Substance use and interpersonal violence: Exploring potential threats to underrepresented minority students' academic success. Journal of College Student Retention-Research Theory & Practice24(1), 193–212.
8.
BonomiA.NicholsE.KammesR.GreenT. (2018). Sexual violence and intimate partner violence in college women with a mental health and/or behavior disability. Journal of Women’s Health, 27(3), 359–368.
9.
BrewerN.ThomasK. A.HigdonJ. (2018). Intimate partner violence, health, sexuality, and academic performance among a national sample of undergraduates. Journal of American College Health, 66(7), 683–692.
10.
BrewerN. Q.ThomasK. A. (2019). Intimate partner violence and academic performance: The role of physical, mental, behavioral, and financial health. Social Work in Health Care, 58(9), 854–869.
11.
CantorD.FisherB.ChibnallS.HarpsS.TownsendR.ThomasG.LeeH.KranzV.HerbisonR.MaddenK. (2020). Report on the AAU Campus Climate Survey on sexual assault and misconduct. Association of American Universities.
CholewinskiJ. T.BurgeJ. M. (1990). Sexual harassment of nursing students. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 22(2),106–110.
14.
CortinaL. M.SwanS.FitzgeraldL. F.WaldoC. (1998). Sexual harassment and assault: Chilling the climate for women in academia. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 22(3), 419–441.
15.
Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, & Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2014). Rape and sexual victimization among college-aged females, 1995–2013. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
16.
DoyleW. R.SkinnerB. T. (2016). Estimating the education-earnings equation using geographic variation. Economics of Education Review, 53, 254–267.
17.
FitzgeraldL. F.ShullmanS. L.BaileyN.RichardsM.SweckerJ.GoldY.OrmerodM.WeitzmanL. (1988). The incidence and dimensions of sexual harassment in academia and the workplace. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 32(2), 152–175.
18.
FreydJ. J. (1997). Violations of power, adaptive blindness, and betrayal trauma theory. Feminism & Psychology, 7, 22–32.
19.
FryD.FangX.ElliottS.CaseyT.ZhengX.LiJ.FlorianL.McCluskeyG. (2018). The relationships between violence in childhood and educational outcomes: A global systematic review and meta-analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 75, 6–28.
20.
GuY. (2012). The influence of protégé-mentor relationships and social networks on women doctoral students’ academic career aspirations in physical sciences and engineering [Doctoral dissertation, University of California]. UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations.
21.
HeiderscheitE. A.SchlickC. J. R.EllisR. J.CheungE. O.IrizarryD.AmorteguiD.EngJ.SosaJ. A.HoytD. B.BuyskeJ.NascaT. J. (2021). Experiences of LGBTQ+ residents in US general surgery training programs. JAMA Surgery157(1), 23–32.
22.
HerekG. M. (1990). The context of anti-gay violence: Notes on cultural and psychological heterosexism. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 5(3), 316–333. https://doi.org/10.1177/088626090005003006
23.
HirschJ. S.KhanS. R. (2020). Sexual citizens: Sex, power, and assault on campus. W. W. Norton & Company.
24.
HodgeL.PrivottC. (2017). The impact of sexual assault on college students’ daily occupations: A phenomenological approach [Master’s thesis, East Kentucky University]. Online Theses and Dissertations.
25.
HuertaM. (2007). Intersections of race and gender in women’s experiences of harassment (Publication No. 3253291) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
26.
HuertaM.CortinaL. M.PangJ. S.TorgesC. M.MagleyV. J. (2006). Sex and power in the academy: Modeling sexual harassment in the lives of college women. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(5), 616–628.
27.
JordanC. E.CombsJ. L.SmithG. T. (2014). An exploration of sexual victimization and academic performance among college women. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 15(3), 191–200.
28.
Kammer-KerwickM.WangA.McClainT.HoeferS.SwartoutK. M.BackesB.Busch-ArmendarizN. (2021). Sexual violence among gender and sexual minority college students: The risk and extent of victimization and related health and educational outcomes. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(21–22), 10499–10526.
29.
KaufmanM. R.TsangS. W.SabriB.BudhathokiC.CampbellJ. (2019). Health and academic consequences of sexual victimisation experiences among students in a university setting. Psychology & Sexuality, 10(1), 56–68.
30.
KhanS. R.HirschJ. S.WamboldtA.MellinsC. A. (2018). “I didn’t want to be ‘that girl’”: The social risks of labeling, telling, and reporting sexual assault. Sociological Science, 5, 432–460.
31.
KleinN. A.DudleyM. G. (2014). Impediments to academic performance of bisexual college students. Journal of American College Health, 62(6), 399–406.
32.
KuchynkaS. L.SalomonK.BossonJ. K.El–HoutM.KiebelE.CoopermanC.ToomeyR. (2018). Hostile and benevolent sexism and college women’s STEM outcomes. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 42(1), 72–87.
33.
LeaperC.StarrC. R. (2019). Helping and hindering undergraduate women’s STEM motivation: Experiences with STEM encouragement, STEM–related gender bias, and sexual harassment. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 43(2), 165–183.
34.
LeBlancM. M.BarlingJ.TurnerN. (2014). Intimate partner aggression and women’s work outcomes. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 19(4), 399–412.
35.
LindquistC. H.BarrickK.KrebsC.CrosbyC. M.LockardA. J.Sanders-PhillipsK. (2013). The context and consequences of sexual assault among undergraduate women at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28(12), 2437–2461.
36.
LorenzK.KirknerA.MazarL. (2019). Graduate student experiences with sexual harassment and academic and social (dis)engagement in higher education. Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education, 12(2), 205–223.
37.
LorenzoL. (2019). Exploring the academic experience of college student survivors of sexual violence: A phenomenological inquiry [Doctoral dissertation, Colorado State University]. CSU Theses and Dissertations.
38.
LoyaR. M. (2012). Economic consequences of sexual violence for survivors: Implications for social policy and social change (Publication No. 3540084) [Doctoral dissertation, Brandeis University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
39.
McClainT.Kammer-KerwickM.WoodL.TempleJ. R.Busch-ArmendarizN. (2021). Sexual harassment among medical students: Prevalence, prediction, and correlated outcomes. Workplace Health & Safety, 69(6), 257–267.
40.
McKinneyK.OlsonC. V.SatterfieldA. (1988). Graduate students' experiences with and responses to sexual harassment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 3(3), 319–325.
41.
McMullenD. J. (2019). An exploratory study of peer sexual harassment on a college campus (Publication No. 13883820) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Hartford]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
42.
MengoC.BlackB. M. (2016). Violence victimization on a college campus: Impact on GPA and school dropout. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 18(2), 234–248.
43.
MennickeA.BowlingJ.GeigerE.BrewsterM. (2020). Disclosure to friends or family and consequences after interpersonal violence: Intersections of sexual identity and race. Journal of American College Health, 70(5), 1465–1475.
44.
MitchellC. M. T. (2020). Effects of intimate partner violence on academic motivation among emerging adult women [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University]. Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies.
45.
MolstadTD.WeinhardtJM.JonesR. (2021). Sexual assault as a contributor to academic outcomes in university: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 24(1), 218–230.
46.
MorrisT. R.LentR. W. (2019). Heterosexist harassment and social cognitive variables as predictors of sexual minority college students’ academic satisfaction and persistence intentions. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 66(3), 308–316.
47.
MuroA. (2013). The development and validation of a domestic violence scale administered to GED program participants to determine the effect on test performance [Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at El Paso]. UTEP Open Access Theses & Dissertations.
48.
MuroA.MeinE. (2010). Domestic trauma and adult education on the United States-Mexico border. Adult Basic Education and Literacy Journal, 4(3), 140–150.
49.
Patterson Silver WolfD. A.PerkinsJ.Van Zile-TamsenC.Butler-BarnesS. (2018). Impact of violence and relationship abuse on grades of American Indian/Alaska Native undergraduate college students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 33(23), 3686–3704.
50.
PinterK. (2015). Sexual assault and academic achievement: Creating more ideal college campuses for sexual assault survivors by taking into account intersectionality and multiracial feminism (Publication No. 1487) [Doctoral dissertation, Loyola University Chicago]. Loyola eCommons Theses and Dissertations.
51.
PomerantzN. K. (1994). Consequences to the educational and developmental progress of college women who have been acquaintance raped (Publication No. 9519600) [Doctoral dissertation, The Union Institute]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
52.
PotterS.HowardR.MurphyS.MoynihanM. M. (2018). Long-term impacts of college sexual assaults on women survivors’ educational and career attainments. Journal of American College Health, 66(6), 496–507.
53.
PotterS. J.MoschellaE. A.MumfordE. A.TaylorB. G. (2022). Outcomes of sexual assault victimization in early adulthood: National estimates for university and nonuniversity students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(19–20), NP19205–NP19215.
54.
RaymondC.CorseS. (2018). A distorting mirror: Educational trajectory after college sexual assault. Feminist Studies, 44(2), 464–490.
55.
ReillyM. E.LottB.GalloglyS. M. (1986). Sexual harassment of university students. Sex Roles, 15(7–8), 333–358.
56.
RigerS.AhrensC.BlickenstaffA. (2000). Measuring interference with employment and education reported by women with abusive partners: Preliminary data. Violence and Victims, 15(2), 161–172.
57.
RosenthalM. N. (2018). Close quarters: College women’s experiences of campus sexual violence [Doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon]. Scholars’ Bank Dissertations and Theses.
58.
RothmanK.SalivarE. G.RoddyM. K.HatchS. G.DossB. D. (2021). Sexual assault among women in college: Immediate and long-term associations with mental health, psychosocial functioning, and romantic relationships. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(19–20), 9600–9622.
59.
RowlandD. L.CrislerL. J.CoxD. J. (1982). Flirting between college students and faculty. Journal of Sex Research, 18(4), 346–359.
60.
SchneiderB. E. (1987). Graduate women, sexual harassment, and university policy. The Journal of Higher Education, 58(1), 46–65.
61.
SilverschanzP.CortinaL. M.KonikJ.MagleyV. J. (2008). Slurs, snubs, and queer jokes: Incidence and impact of heterosexist harassment in academia. Sex Roles, 58(3–4), 179–191.
62.
SilverschanzP. C. (2007). Sticks and stones (and queer jokes): Psychosocial and academic consequences of heterosexist harassment (Publication No. 3224748) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
63.
SmithS. G.ZhangX.BasileK. C.MerrickM. T.WangJ.KresnowM.ChenJ. (2018). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2015 data brief—updated release. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
64.
SorokasK. (2018). Sexual violence on college campuses: An analysis of the relationship between sexual violence and the academic performance, alcohol consumption, and mental health of college women (Publication No. 10597732) [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
65.
SouthK. A. (2018). College student survivors’ evaluations of institutional responses to reports of sexual violence [Doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon]. Scholars’ Bank Dissertations and Theses.
66.
StermacL.BanceS.CrippsJ.HorowitzS. (2018). Sexual coercion and women’s education: A pilot study. Violence and Gender, 5(2), 110–118.
67.
StermacL.CrippsJ.AmiriT.BadaliV. (2020). Sexual violence and women’s education: Examining academic performance and persistence. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 50(1), 28–39.
68.
StewartK. E.MontJ. D.ChariseA.PolatajkoH. J. (2020). Life irrupted: A narrative exploration of the occupational lives of women who experienced sexual assault while at university. Journal of Occupational Science, 27(4), 492–509.
69.
StrattonT.McLaughlinM.WitteF.FossonS.NoraL.Margaret MdJ. D. (2005). Does students’ exposure to gender discrimination and sexual harassment in medical school affect specialty choice and residency program selection?Academic Medicine, 80(4), 400–408. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-200504000-00020
70.
ThomasE. K. (1998). Abused college students. Psychology: A Journal of Human Behavior, 35(3–4), 61–63.
71.
TremblayP. F.HarrisR.BermanH.MacQuarrieB.HutchinsonG. E.SmithM. A.BraleyS.JelleyJ.DearloveK. (2008). Negative social experiences of university and college students. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 38(3), 57–75.
van RoosmalenE.McDanielS. A. (1999). Sexual harassment in academia: A hazard to women’s health. Women & Health, 28(2), 33–54.
74.
Voth SchragR. J.EdmondT.NordbergA. (2020). Understanding school sabotage among survivors of intimate partner violence from diverse populations. Violence Against Women, 26(11), 1286–1304.
75.
Voth SchragR. J.WoodL.Busch-ArmendarizN. (2020). Pathways from intimate partner violence to academic disengagement among women university students. Violence and Victims, 35(2), 227–245.
76.
Voth SchragR. J.WoodL. G.HairstonD.JonesC. (2022). Academic safety planning: Intervening to improve the educational outcomes of collegiate survivors of interpersonal violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(9–10), NP7880–NP7906.
77.
WaechterR.MaV. (2015). Sexual violence in America: Public funding and social priority. American Journal of Public Health, 105(12), 2430–2437.
78.
WatsonM. E. (2009). Beyond barriers: A phenomenological study of women reporting intimate partner violence in college (Publication No. 3360088) [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Nebraska]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
79.
WoodL.Voth SchragR.Busch-ArmendarizN. (2018). Mental health and academic impacts of intimate partner violence among IHE-attending women. Journal of American College Health, 68(3), 286–293.
80.
WoodfordM. R.KulickA. (2015). Academic and social integration on campus among sexual minority students: The impacts of psychological and experiential campus climate. American Journal of Community Psychology, 55(1–2), 13–24.
81.
ZeanahK. L. (2016). Experiences of heterosexist harassment among graduate students training to work as school-based professionals: Impact on psychological functioning, academic wellbeing, and attitudes toward sexual minority individuals (Publication No. 28642816) [Doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
