Koss (1988) reported that 74% of the perpetrators and 55% of the victims of rape in her nationally representative sample of college students had been drinking alcohol.
On average, at least 50% of college students’ sexual assaults are associated with alcohol use ( Abbey et al., 1996a, 1998 Copenhaver and Grauerholz, 1991 Harrington and Leitenberg, 1994 Presley et al., 1997). Prevalence of Alcohol-Related Sexual Assault Rates of sexual assault experienced by black, Hispanic, Asian and white college women appear to be relatively comparable ( Abbey et al., 1996a Koss et al., 1987 Mills and Granoff, 1992). Women who reported their sexual assaults to authorities often labeled their treatment by the system as “a second rape.” Awareness of the derogatory manner in which many victims are treated deters others from reporting.Ī few studies have focused on prevalence rates among minority students. Greene and Navarro (1998) reported that none of the college women in their prospective survey reported their sexual assault to any college official. In their fourth year of college, 24% of the women experienced a sexual assault 3.9% experienced completed rape. In their first year of college, 31% of the women experienced some type of sexual assault 6.4% experienced completed rape. Annual prevalence rates were alarmingly high, although they declined slightly each year. In the prospective study that followed students for the longest period of time, Humphrey and White (2000) surveyed women from one university beginning in the fall of their first year and ending in the spring of their fourth year. Most of these studies have been cross-sectional. Similar prevalence rates have been found in studies conducted at colleges throughout the United States ( Abbey et al., 1996a Copenhaver and Grauerholz, 1991 Mills and Granoff, 1992 Muehlenhard and Linton, 1987). Only 5% of the rape victims reported the incident to the police 42% told no one about the assault. Of these women, 17% had experienced rape or attempted rape in the previous year. Fifteen percent of the women had experienced an act that met the legal definition of completed rape an additional 12% had experienced attempted rape. In this survey, 54% of the women had experienced some form of sexual assault. They used 10 behaviorally specific questions to assess women’s experiences with forced sexual contact, verbally coerced sexual intercourse, attempted rape and rape since the age of 14. (1987), who surveyed 6,159 students from 32 colleges selected to represent the higher education enrollment in the United States. The most methodologically rigorous study of sexual assault prevalence was completed by Koss et al. Rates of sexual assault reported by college women After making suggestions for future research, the article concludes with a discussion of prevention and policy issues. Then theories about how alcohol contributes to sexual assault are described. First, information is provided about the prevalence of sexual assault and alcohol-involved sexual assault among college students. This article reviews the literature on college students’ sexual assault experiences. If no alcohol was consumed, I would never have crossed that line.”
I had been a virgin and felt it was all my fault for going back to his house when no one else was home.” A male college student who forced sex on a female friend wrote that, “Alcohol loosened us up and the situation occurred by accident. He grabbed me and dragged me into his room and raped me. I got sick drunk I was slumped over the toilet vomiting. A college student who participated in one of our studies explained how she agreed to go back to her date’s home after a party: “We played quarter bounce (a drinking game).
Alcohol-related sexual assault is a common occurrence on college campuses.