An Exploration of Factors that Mediate the Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Sexual Assault Victimization Among LGBTQ+ College Students

Abstract

Despite alarming rates of sexual assault on college campuses, little research has examined risk factors for sexual victimization among LGBTQ+ college students. This exploratory study aims to examine adolescent sexual assault, internalized homonegativity, and problematic alcohol use as mediators linking several types of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs; i.e., childhood sexual abuse, parental abuse, and household disorder) to collegiate sexual assault. Utilizing data from 241 LGBTQ+ college students, path analysis findings demonstrated that these proposed mediators increased risk for sexual assault and that various types of ACEs exerted differential impacts on sexual re-victimization, internalized homonegativity, and problematic alcohol use. Practice-based implications are offered, including the need for affirming programming that includes problem drinking prevention components and considers the role of ACEs and internalized homonegativity in increasing risk for sexual assault during college as well as the need for LGBTQ+ resource centers on campus.

Childhood Sexual Abuse and Associated Suicidal Ideation and Attempts Among Gay and Bisexual Men in China: A Moderated Mediation Model

“…For example, IH has been found to be directly and positively associated with traumatic experiences, including childhood physical and sexual abuse (Gold & Marx, 2007). A recent study revealed that more severe CSA experiences were linked to higher levels of IH among gay and bisexual men (Sutton et al, 2022). Therefore, CSA experience may be a crucial factor that can be positively linked to higher IH in this marginalized community in China.…”

Sexual assault revictimization among sexual minority individuals: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

“…Adolescent sexual assault experiences then contributed to adult sexual abuse. Sutton et al (2022) did not find that CSA or adult sexual assault was related to problematic alcohol use or internalized homonegativity. In our review, no studies examined protective factors in relation to revictimization.…”

“…Hequembourg et al (2013), in a stepwise regression examining adult victimization severity (where sexual identity and CSA experiences were entered as predictors), found that education, number of lifetime male partners, and alcohol severity significantly predicted adult victimization experiences (sexual orientation did not, but CSA experiences did; Hequembourg et al, 2013). Interestingly, Sutton et al (2022) disaggregated CSA, adolescent sexual abuse, and abuse that occurred in college (i.e., adult abuse) and used path analyses to find that CSA contributed to adolescent sexual assault. Adolescent sexual assault experiences then contributed to adult sexual abuse.…”

“…Of the studies that did, most examined individual-level risk and did not attend to distal factors that are known to impact victimization for sexual minorities specifically (e.g., discrimination). Although many studies took up the concept of minority stress in the framing and interpretation of their work, few articles examined processes specific to sexual minority communities (see McConnell & Messman-Moore, 2019; Sutton et al, 2022). Environmental risk factors (e.g., lack of community resources, a climate that tolerates violence against sexual minority people) may profoundly impact risk (Flanders et al, 2021), and their absence among these articles is notable.…”

“…Hequembourg et al (2013) found that 79% of all sexual minority women reported a man as the perpetrator of their most recent sexual victimization experience and bisexual women were more likely than lesbian women to report a male perpetrator. Similarly, Sutton et al (2022) found that 76% of sexual minority This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”