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ERIC Number: ED668054
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 252
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-5346-6576-5
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
The Ecology of Campus Sexual Assault: A Latent Class Analysis
Lindsay E. Smith
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The George Washington University
Campus sexual assault (CSA) is a pervasive problem among US college students. Large scale, methodologically similar studies frequently find that between 20-25% of women and 6-7% of men are sexually victimized during their time at 4 year colleges and universities in the US (Cantor et al., 2015, 2019; Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000; Krebs et al., 2007; Krebs, Lindquist, & Barrick, 2011). CSA is frequently associated with mental and physical health problems including depression, anxiety, PTSD, suicidality, insomnia, chronic pain, and gastrointestinal problems, making it a significant public health concern for institutions of higher education (IHEs; Campbell, Dworkin, & Cabral, 2008; Carey et al., 2018; Golding, 1999; Leone & Carroll, 2016; McDougall et al., 2016; Potter et al., 2018). Despite the dearth of research literature on CSA, there are several significant problems that have plagued the field from painting an accurate picture of the scope and context of the problem, including methodological challenges to gathering accurate incidence and prevalence rates and inconsistent language across research studies. The present study serves to partially fill the research gap by taking a latent variable mixture modeling approach to campus climate survey data in order to uncover subgroups of students based on their responses to elements of campus climate and understand the predictive capabilities of both individual and environmental variables as they relate to those latent subgroups. The purpose of the present study is to utilize a process-person- context framework in order to examine individual factors within the larger campus environment and sociopolitical landscape. Results confirmed the existence of latent subgroups of students on elements of campus climate, and latent class membership could be predicted by victimization status, and a number of individual, environmental, and institutional variables. Of note, results highlighted disenfranchisement and fearful-based responses in students with marginalized identities. Additionally, results linked membership with on-campus organizations with possessing more knowledge of on- campus resources available to students. Finally, results linked university size, region, and class (public vs. private) to latent class membership highlighting the impact of allocation of funds and resources on perceptions of campus climate. Implications of the present study may help IHEs identify students who would benefit from specialized outreach efforts to regain trust in their IHE and increase overall levels of students' knowledge of on-campus resources to increase safety of campus communities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A