Understanding Sexual Assault Victimization Among College Men: A Mixed Methods Approach

ECU Author/Contributor (non-ECU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)

Emily M Downs (Creator)

Institution

East Carolina University (ECU )

Web Site: http://www.ecu.edu/lib/

Abstract: Introduction: Sexual assault is a major concern on college campuses , but most research has focused on women as victims and men as perpetrators. Despite this , there is evidence that men also experience sexual assault , albeit less frequently than women (Banyard et al. , 2007). Unfortunately , there is little research available that focuses on men's experiences with sexual assault , likely due to multiple factors including the smaller victim pool , low disclosure frequency , rape myths regarding men and sexual assault , and a lack of inclusion of certain assault experiences pertaining to men in sexual assault screening measures (Cantor et al. , 2015; Navarro & Clevenger , 2017; Struckman-Johnson & Struckman-Johnson , 1992). Prior studies attempting to assess the prevalence of sexual assault in college men vary greatly in their findings€”from 3-28% of men surveyed€”largely due to differing sexual assault criteria , methodology , and time frames assessed (Forsman , 2017). Furthermore , to fully understand men's experiences , there is a need for qualitative research examining men's descriptions of their assaults. Methods: The current study evaluated the responses of 58 men (11.2%) who experienced a sexual assault who participated in a large online study of sexual assault among college students. Participants completed an assault characteristics measure , which assessed multiple aspects of the assault , as well as screening measures for depression , PTSD , and hazardous alcohol use. They also provided a written description of the sexual assault experience. Results: The majority of men described a female perpetrator , most often an acquaintance or romantic partner. Alcohol and party contexts were frequently described. Significant proportions of men scored above the cutoffs for probable depression , PTSD , and hazardous alcohol use. Thematic analysis of assault narratives supported the existence of several types of assault (e.g. , incapacitated , violent assault , mismatched intentions) , as well as themes related to the negative impact of the assault , minimization of the assault's impact , emasculation , as well as rape myths (e.g. , it was not rape because the victim had an erection). Discussion: Results supported both similarities and differences in the sexual assault experiences of men and women. For example , there was evidence male rape myths affect how men label their assault experiences. As another example , many men minimized the impact of the assault , and some were able to use their size/strength to stop the assault , or believed that they could have stopped the assault if they chose to do so. Additional work should examine the experiences of male victims and develop tailored interventions for this population.

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Publication

Thesis

Language: English

Date: 2019

Keywords

sexual assault, college men, mixed methods, qualitative

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