These summaries were written by SVPEP staff and are based on original papers published within the last 2 years. The information available on this web site is provided as a public service and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the Arizona Department of Health Services, or the University of Arizona. To conduct an individual search or locate older articles use the Search Summary Database which includes over 600 articles related to sexual violence.

Basile, K. C., Black, M. C., Simon, T. R., Arias, I., Brener, N. D., & Saltzman, L. E. (2006). The association between self-reported lifetime history of forced sexual intercourse and recent health-risk behaviors: Findings from the 2003 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Journal of Adolescent Health, 39, 752.e1-752.e7. [Posted January 2007]

Key Points: In a nationally representative sample of 13,080 high school students, 1 in 8 girls and 1 in 16 boys reported a history of forced sexual intercourse. Female and male victims were more likely to also have experienced recent dating violence and engage in health risk behaviors compared to non-victims.

Summary: This study used data from the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Students provided information on a range of health risk behaviors.  Both female and male victims of forced sex were more likely than non-victims to have been physically abused by a dating partner and to have considered or attempted suicide in the previous 12 months. Female and male victims were more likely to have engaged in recent unhealthy eating behaviors and substance abuse.  Because the survey asked about only one type of sexual violence (forced intercourse), it is likely that the rates of sexual victimization were higher than reported in the study. The researchers recommend increasing both primary and secondary prevention efforts to reduce the harm of sexual violence.

Topics: adolescent/high school; prevalence; risk

Basile, K. C., Swahn, M. H., Chen, J., & Saltzman, L. E. (2006). Stalking in the United States: Recent national prevalence estimates. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 31, 172-175. [Posted April 2007]

Key Points: Stalking affects 7% of women and 2% of men in the United States at some point in their lives.

Summary: Researchers analyzed data from the second national Injury Control and Risk Survey (ICARIS-2; N=9684). Respondents were considered victims of stalking if they had been followed and described the experience as “somewhat dangerous” or “life-threatening.” Based on this definition, an estimated 7 million women and 2 million men in the United States have been stalked. Significant factors associated with having been stalked included being female, white, not married or living as a couple, being employed, and being less than 55 years old. The authors recommended research to develop prevention interventions that can be used jointly by criminal justice and public health to reduce the prevalence of stalking and provide services to victims.

Limitations: Lack of information on the relationship of the stalker to the victim. Description of stalking was limited to two questions, and stalking tactics used were not assessed.

Topics: prevalence; stalking

Fitzgerald, M.M., Danielson, C.K., Saunders, B., & Kilpatrick, D.G. (2007).Youth victimization: Implications for prevention, intervention, and public policy. The Prevention Researcher, 14, 3-7. [Posted August 2007]

Key Points: Policies and practices are needed to minimize the harm of youth victimization by encouraging assessment, targeted prevention, and treatment interventions.  

Summary: The authors review national prevalence rates of youth victimization, including: sexual, emotional or physical abuse; witnessing domestic or community violence; property crime; and excessive punishment. They note gender and race/ethnicity differences in prevalence rates as well as mental health effects. Specific recommendations for assessing risk and resiliency factors as well as screening for victimization in clinical settings are given. The authors discuss the importance of targeted interventions for specific groups, and urge adoption of an ecological model. Finally, the authors discuss how public and organizational policies can help decrease the impact of victimization and increase the availability of supportive services for youth and their families.

Topics: adolescent/high school; effects; medical response; prevalence; prevention; racial/ethnic differences

Flack Jr., W. F., Caron, M. L., Leinen, S. J., Breitenbach, K. G., Barber, A. M., Brown, E. N. et al. (2008). "The red zone": Temporal risk for unwanted sex among college students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, online. [Posted April 2008]

Key Points: First-year college women were not found to be at elevated risk for unwanted sex, but second-year women were at elevated risk during a period corresponding to sorority and fraternity pledging activities.

Summary: There is a popular perception that inexperienced college freshman women are at greatest risk for sexual assault, especially during the first few weeks or months of the fall semester. To test this, the researchers surveyed first-year (n=104) and second- year (n=101) male and female college students about unwanted experiences of sexual contact. Those who had experienced unwanted sex were asked to place the event(s) in one of 7 time periods. Women reported significantly higher rates of unwanted sex than men (44% vs. 7%). Most experiences involved the consumption of alcohol (81%) and almost one-third of the offenders were well-known to their victims (all were students at the university). Relatively more unwanted touching experiences occurred during the last time period—the second year from about one month after the start of school to the middle of October—than any other time. Researchers were told by sorority members that this corresponded to the period called “pledging”, during which young (second-year) women were invited to frequent fraternity parties at which alcohol was consumed.

Limitations: This study was conducted at a small Eastern liberal arts college. College cultures and activities vary widely, and results of this study might have been different at a campus with different characteristics.

Topics: alcohol; college; fraternities/sororities; prevalence; risk

Gross, A. M., Winslett, A., Roberts, M., & Gohm, C. L. (2006). An examination of sexual violence against college women. Violence Against Women, 12, 288-300.

The purpose of the study was to examine the incidence and correlates of different forms of sexual victimization among a sample of college women. The sample consisted of 935 undergraduate female students who were recruited from introductory psychology classes and on-campus sororities. A questionnaire was administered to participants in small groups. The results showed that 27% of the women had experienced unwanted sexual contact since enrolling in college. Thirty-seven percent of the sample reported multiple forced sexual experiences. African-American women reported higher rates of sexual victimization compared to White women. Survivors and perpetrators reported high rates of alcohol consumption during the time of the sexual experience. Boyfriends were the most common perpetrator of sexual aggression. Implications for prevention efforts are discussed.

Topics: college; prevalence; risk

Hines, D.  (2007). Predictors of sexual coercion against women and men:  A multilevel, multinational study of university students.  Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36, 403-422. [Posted July 2008]
 
Key Points:  The type of relationship between partners and societal sexual beliefs predicted forced and verbal sexual coercion for both women and men.  

Summary:  This study had several goals: to investigate rates of forced and verbal sexual coercion and sexual revictimization around the world, association between sexual coercion and adversarial sexual beliefs, and association between childhood sexual abuse and current victimization of sexual aggression in both men and women. Information was gathered from the International Dating Violence Study where questionnaires were completed by students in a classroom setting at various universities around the world.  The findings suggest that adversarial beliefs about romantic relationships were associated with sexual coercion for both genders.  The sites with high rates of hostile beliefs about the opposite sex observed a higher number of reports of verbal and forced sexual coercion victimization.    

Limitations:  This was a correlation study based on a sample of college/university women and men.

Topics: male-female relations, prevention, prevalence, racial/ethnic differences

Martin, S., Ray, N. Sotres-Alvarez, D., Kupper, L., Moracco, K., Dickens, P., et al. (2006). Physical and sexual assault of women with disabilities. Violence Against Women, 12, 823-837. [Posted October 2006]

Key Points: Women with disabilities were more likely to experience sexual assault than women without disabilities in the past year. Both groups were equally likely to experience physical assault.

Summary: This study looked at data from phone surveys completed by 5,326 women in North Carolina. Prevalence of physical, emotional, or mental disabilities was estimated at 26%. Sexual assault (forced sexual activity) was experienced by 1.5% of disabled women and 0.6% of women without disabilities in the past year. Women who self-identified as disabled and those with cognitive impairments were significantly more likely to have experienced sexual assault (2.1% and 1.7% respectively). Other factors associated with having experienced sexual violence were being under 40 years old and being non-white. Physical assault was experienced during the previous year by 2.0% of disabled women and 2.3% of non-disabled women. Results suggest that sexual violence and domestic violence services should ensure that their services are accessible to and appropriate for women with physical, emotional, and mental disabilities.

Limitations: Women in institutional settings (care homes, prison, etc.) were not included in this study. Because only households with telephones were surveyed, these results cannot be generalized to women who live without telephones.

Topics: disabled; prevalence

Messman-Moore, T. L. & Brown, A. L. (2006). Risk perception, rape, and sexual revictimization: A prospective study of college women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30, 159-172. [Posted January 2007]

Key Points: Delayed responses to a hypothetical acquaintance rape scenario increased college women’s risks for rape and revictimization during an 8 month follow-up period.

Summary: In this longitudinal study, 262 women completed a series of questionnaires four times over eight months. Rates of sexual victimization and rape experienced by participants were assessed over time. At baseline, 56.8% of the women had already experienced some form of sexual victimization in their lifetime.
Participants were asked to read two scenarios ending in rape, one involving a male acquaintance and the other a male stranger (scenarios are presented in the Appendix).  Women indicated at what point during the scenario they would feel uncomfortable and when they would leave the situation. During the eight month follow-up period, 43.4% of participants reported some type of unwanted sexual experience, and 10% of the women were raped. Prior victimization and delayed risk response (i.e., leaving the hypothetical situation later in the scenario) were associated with increased likelihood of sexual victimization during the course of the study.  The researchers recommended that prevention programs place more emphasis on risk-reduction behaviors rather than risk identification, and that acquaintance rape scenarios should be used more than stranger rape scenarios in sexual violence education programs.

Topics: college; prevalence; risk

Moracco, K. E., Runyan, C. W., Bowling, J. M., & Earp, J. A. (2007). Women's experiences with violence: A national study. Women's Health Issues, 17, 3-12. [Posted February 2008]

Key Points: In a nationally representative sample of women, 60% reported experiencing some form of violence as adults; 10% had experienced violence in the previous year.

Summary: During 1997, telephone interviews were conducted with 1800 US women aged 18 years and over. Women were asked about stalking behaviors, physical assault, and sexual assault that they had experienced both during their adult lives and during the previous year. Data were weighted to account for demographic variations. Consistent with other national surveys such as the National Violence Against Women Survey, about one in six women reported having been sexually assaulted, and the perpetrator was three times more likely to be someone known to them than a stranger.  Racial/ethnic differences were also similar to other national findings, with Asian American and white women being less likely to experience violence than all other groups. Other risk factors for having experienced sexual violence included being less than 55 years old (young women aged 18-24 reported the most violence), living in a household that received public assistance, and being lesbian/bisexual.

Limitations: The sample was restricted to women living in households with telephones. Because the study was cross-sectional, the causal relationship of risk factors to types of violence experienced cannot be explored.

Topics: lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender; prevalence; racial/ethnic differences; risk

Raj, A., Rose, J., Decker, M. R., Rosengard, C., Hebert, M. R., Stein, M., et al. (2008).  Prevalence and patterns of sexual assault across the life span among incarcerated women.  Violence Against Women, 14, 528-541. [Posted August 2008]

Key Points: Incarcerated women experience different patterns of sexual victimization over a lifetime than the general population.

Summary: This study examined the prevalence of assault across life span and associations with perpetrators in a sample of incarcerated women at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections in 2002 and 2003.  Investigators found that more than half of the women experienced sexual assault during their life span.  This sample was found to be more vulnerable to childhood sexual assault (CSA) by family members and in adulthood by strangers.  Results indicated an association between CSA by family and adulthood assault by friend, stranger and partner.  Prevalence of assault by partners in adolescence was less than rates reported by the general population. 

Limitations: Sample only included women in one correctional facility that were only English speaking.

Topics: prevalence, underserved populations

Spitzberg, B. H. & Cupach, W. R. (2007). The state of the art of stalking: Taking stock of the emerging literature. Aggression & Violent Behavior, 12, 64-86. [Posted April 2007]

Key Points: The article provides a thorough overview and explanation of issues related to stalking based on the current published literature.

Summary: This meta-analysis summarizes the results of 175 studies of stalking. In addition to looking at variations in prevalence between studies, the authors considered the definitions of stalking and described the closely-related set of behaviors termed “obsessive relational intrusion.” The authors created systematic typologies of types of stalkers, stalkers’ motivations, and types of stalking behaviors. Victims’ coping responses and the effects of stalking are also categorized. The majority of stalking victims are women. Because the majority of victims (79%) were acquainted with the stalker, and because half of all stalking was related to romantic relationships, the authors recommended looking at most stalking not only as criminal behavior or psychopathology, but as a type of “relationship terrorism” similar to other types of domestic violence.

Topics: effects; perpetration; prevalence; stalking

Wolff, N., Blitz, C., Shi, J., Bachman, R., Siegel, J. (2006). Sexual violence inside prisons: Rates of victimization. Journal of Urban Health, 83, 835-848. [Posted October 2006]

Key Points: Sexual victimization in prisons (including sexual contact and nonconsensual sex acts) occurs most frequently between female inmates.

Summary: To estimate the prevalence of sexual violence in a prison system, male (n=6,964) and female inmates (n=564) in twelve prisons in a small eastern state completed a computer-assisted survey. Inmates were asked about incidents involving abusive sexual contact and non-consensual sex acts by other inmates or by prison staff within the last 6 months. Females reported inmate-on-inmate sexual violence at 212 incidents per 1000 inmates while males reported only 43 incidents per 1000 inmates. Rates of non-consensual sex (inmate on inmate) were 32 per 1000 for women and 15 per for men. Staff-on-inmate sexual victimization rates were the same for men and women (76 per 1000), with men reporting 19 per 1000 incidents of non-consensual sex vs. 17 per 1000 for women. This study had a good response rate (average 39%) from all inmates housed in general population. Because rates of sexual violence varied by the site, future studies should look at factors that can minimize risks. Inmate experiences of trauma and disease from forced sex should be addressed to prevent them from contributing to the ill health of their community when they are released. 

Topics: male rape; prevalence; prison rape; underserved populations

Young, A., Young, A. & Fullwood, H. (2007). Adolescent online victimization. The Prevention Researcher, 14, 8-9. [Posted April 2007]

Key Points: As Internet use becomes more common, the number of youth exposed to online sexual solicitation, sexual material, and harassment (sexual or bullying) has increased.

Summary: In a review of three recent studies, the authors estimated national prevalence of online victimization of youth at 13% for sexual solicitation; 34% for exposure to unwanted sexual material; and 9% for any type of harassment. The majority of incidents was not distressing and was not reported to adults. Risk factors for online victimization included older age (youth 14-17 were at higher risk than younger children) and gender (girls were more likely to experience sexual solicitation or harassment than boys). In one study, 60% of youth gave out personal information in an online questionnaire or form. About 45% gave that information to someone they had met online. Possible prevention strategies include frank discussion by adults about Internet victimization so that youth are better equipped to avoid it and deal with it if it happens. The authors recommended making youth aware of the possible consequences of sharing personal information online. Adults can also prepare youth to take action if they are victimized: removing themselves from the situation; changing screen name; and reporting the incident to prevent others from being victimized.

Topics: adolescent/high school; harassment; media/ internet; prevalence; prevention; risk

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Updated 09/19/08