Alcohol Use and Sexual Assault Among College Students

Abstract

The Research to Practice column is designed to provide advanced practice nurses (APRNs) with an analysis of a current research topic with implications for practice change within emergency care settings. This review examines a recent study conducted by Tadros, Sharon, Hoffman, and Davidov (2018), titled “Emergency Department Visits for Sexual Assault by Emerging Adults: Is Alcohol a Factor?” The authors conducted a retrospective chart review of emergency department (ED) visits for sexual assault among a college-age population and found most patients were female (98%) and 70% were younger than 21 years. Additionaly, among those younger than 21 years, 74% reported alcohol use at the time of their assault and 62.3% delayed presenting to the ED for care for 24 hr or more. These and other associated findings have implications for APRN practice, including reporting and documentation of these events, and risk reduction educational strategies.

Who sees opportunity to help? A prospective study on adolescents’ detection of intervention opportunities in situations of sexual and dating violence

“…Compared to adolescents who did not binge drink, adolescents who binge drank were more likely to report bystander opportunity in all situations except for one. Most binge drinking occurs in social situations where individuals are around other binge drinking peers (Clapp & Shilington, 2001), and high rates of sexual and dating violence take place in the presence of alcohol (Sheridan & Evans, 2019; Waterman et al, 2019). Although binge drinking within the last 30 days does not mean that each opportunity was presented when an individual was drunk or drinking, it is reasonable to assume that drinking may be involved with the bystander opportunities.…”