The Scope of Rape Victimization and Perpetration Among National Samples of College Students Across 30 years

Abstract

Research Questions: Rape prevention practice and policy have roots in data from 1985. This study uses 2015 national data to project recent prevalence, assesses whether rates now differ from those of 30 years ago, and disaggregates 2015 prevalence into rape of alcohol incapacitated victims, rapes combining both alcohol and physical tactics, and violent rape. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted comparing two national samples. The first was collected in 1984-85 (Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987); the second was collected 30 years later in 2014-2015. Both surveys used in-person administration and measurement by the most current version at the time of the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES). Prevalence rates were compared using Bayesian binomial tests. Results: In 2015, 33.4% (1 in 3) of women reported experiencing rape or attempted rape and 12.7% of men reported perpetration (1 in 8). Using Jeffreys' label for effect size of the Bayes binomial (1961), both results are “decisively” greater than expected given the 1985 benchmarks of 27.9% for victimization and 7.7% for perpetration. Victimization when incapacitated characterized approximately 75% of incidents in 2015 up from 50% in 1985. Cautions apply as cross-sectional data does not establish causality and the recent data set involved the revised SES. Conclusions: Across 30 years, neither containment nor reduction of rape was demonstrated and the increasingly prominent association with alcohol was apparent. Among the men who disclosed raping, 9 of 10 incidents were alcohol-involved. Prevention focus might profitably be directed to constraining alcohol environments and policies that facilitate rape of incapacitated persons and on misconduct responses that are proportional to the harm caused to rape victims, thereby raising the perceived risks of perpetration.

Alcohol-involved rape: Limitations of the “rape exception” for abortion access.

“…Research consistently documents that approximately 50% of sexual assaults involve alcohol consumption by the victim, perpetrator, or both (Abbey et al, 2014). Moreover, these rates have increased over time, in part due to perpetrator exploitation of victims who are incapacitated (i.e., unable to provide consent) due to alcohol consumption (Koss et al, 2022). A U.S. national sample of college women reported that most alcohol-/drug-facilitated rapes (72%) involved alcohol only, 21% of alcohol-/drug-facilitated rapes involved alcohol and drugs, and 7% of alcohol-/drug-facilitated rapes involved drugs only (McCauley et al, 2009).…”

Normative misperception of sexual- and alcohol-related predictors of sexual assault by college men.

“…Male-initiated sexually aggressive behavior (SAB) toward women is a serious public-health problem on college campuses across the United States (Koss et al, 2022). Approximately 25% of college women report being sexually assaulted by a man during college (Cantor et al, 2019).…”

“…First, perceived peer approval of and engagement in contact SAB predicts contact SAB (Jacques-Tiura et al, 2015; Swartout, 2013; Thompson et al, 2015). Alcohol consumption is also linked to contact SAB, with 50%–75% of contact SAB episodes occurring when the victim, perpetrator, or both have consumed alcohol (Abbey et al, 2014; Koss et al, 2022). However, many SAB proximal predictor variables traditionally have not incorporated the presence of alcohol.…”

Evaluating a Theory-Based Online Program for Preventing Sexual Aggression: An Experimental-Longitudinal Study With German University Students

“…Sexual aggression, defined as any attempted or completed sexual activity against a person's will, is a prevalent problem among college students (Koss et al, 2022;Krahé 2021), with a wide range of potential physical, mental, and behavioral problems (Dworkin et al, 2017(Dworkin et al, , 2022Ullman & Najdowski, 2011), and a higher vulnerability to revictimization (Anderson et al, 2020;Cusack et al, 2021). Prevention approaches to reduce the rates of sexual aggression perpetration and victimization were mostly developed in the United States and were tailored to the context of campus universities.…”