Employees, Advisees, and Emerging Scholars: A Qualitative Analysis of Graduate Students' Roles and Experiences of Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment on College Campuses.

Sexual violence and sexual harassment (SVSH) are pervasive across university campuses. SVSH research rarely focuses on graduate students, who occupy unique positions within university settings due to their multiple responsibilities (e.g., teaching, research, mentoring), including managing unequal power dynamics with mentors and advisors. As part of a larger qualitative study, we sought to better understand SVSH generally and, when applicable, experiences of SVSH among graduate students on three campuses. Our primary research questions were: (a) How graduate students understand SVSH on their campus and whether they are at risk, (b) How graduate students navigate power dynamics that position them to experience SVSH, and (c) What graduate student-centered solutions and improvements can make campuses safer, more equitable spaces for all students. To answer these questions, we conducted 21 in-depth interviews and 8 focus group discussions with a diverse group of graduate students across various graduate programs. Using grounded theory and implementing student-centered approaches to data collection and analysis, we identified multiple themes, including graduate students' uncertainty regarding SVSH on campus; and how power relations with faculty, combined with distrust of university processes, keep many graduate students silent about SVSH. Finally, employing graduate students' suggestions, we offer recommendations for how universities can improve campus climate and SVSH resources for graduate students.

Pathways From Intimate Partner Violence to Academic Disengagement Among Women University Students.

More knowledge is needed related to collegiate intimate partner violence (IPV) and the pathways between experiencing physical and psychological IPV and academic disengagement. Students in a University System in the southwest completed an online survey including measures of physical and psychological IPV, academic disengagement, sense of community, and safety on campus. Conditional process analyses were used to understand key pathways for 6,818 woman identified students. All models found a significant indirect path between physical and psychological IPV and academic disengagement via depression symptoms. Students' sense of community on campus was associated with less academic disengagement regardless of physical violence. The impact of psychological IPV on disengagement was stronger for those with lower senses of community. Enhancing screening and education, providing effective mental health counseling, and increasing advocacy will help institutions better address IPV.

Institutional commitment to combating sexual violence: The practices and policies of U.S. universities.

By presenting institution-level variables of 118 universities across 50 states and the District of Columbia, we provide a descriptive overview of the types of programs and sexual assault-related data. Specifically, we examine correlations between policies and practices related to sexual assault prevention and reports of rape. As expected, we found that universities with policies pertaining to affirmative consent, alcohol, and inclusive definitions of assault, combined with practices like mandatory training and transparency with campus climate survey findings, also have higher reports of sexual assault.

Patterns of Sexual Harassment: An Intersectional Approach to Reported Victimization in a Campus Climate Survey of Students at Irish Higher Education Institutions.

This study explores how identifying with multiple minority groups relates to sexual harassment victimization (SHV) among students in higher education institutions in Ireland (n = 6,002). Results show that gender nonconforming and female students were more likely than males to experience SHV. Bisexual or queer and gay or lesbian students were more likely than their heterosexual peers to experience SHV. Students with a physical or cognitive disability were more likely to experience SHV than those who reported no disability, and white students were more likely than minority ethnic groups to experience SHV. When controlling for sexual orientation, gender, and disability status, students who identified as both gay and lesbian and reported a cognitive disability were 8.5 times more likely to experience SHV. Victims of SHV reported having lower scores on perceived institutional support items than those who had not experienced SHV.

Drinking, Diversity, and Discrimination: Campus-Level Factors that Influence Students' Risk of Experiencing Sexual Assault.

College students' individual-level risk factors for sexual assault victimization have been studied for decades, but fewer studies have looked at whether and how campus-level factors, such as campus-level rates of discrimination and campus diversity, might also influence student victimization risk. Identifying these broader factors can inform efforts to develop more effective campus-level sexual assault preventive interventions. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a large, multi-campus health and well-being survey (N = 309,171 students across 474 US campuses) to explore how campus-level factors shape students' risk of experiencing sexual assault after accounting for students' individual-level risk factors. Using mixed-effects logistic regression, we examined the influence of campus-level factors (e.g., campus sexual orientation demographics and gender diversity) on students' odds of experiencing sexual assault, after accounting for individual risk factors (e.g., sexual and gender minority status). Although some campus characteristics, such as enrollment size, had small significant effects on students' odds of experiencing sexual assault, we found larger significant effects from aggregated campus-level rates of binge drinking, campus diversity (particularly regarding sexual orientation and gender), and discrimination. These findings suggest that comprehensive campus sexual violence prevention would benefit from strategies that promote safe and inclusive campuses, especially for students with marginalized sexual and gender identities.

Enhancing sense of belonging in nursing student clinical placements to advance learning and identity development.

Clinical placements are considered one of the "hallmarks" of nursing education. In these settings, students can build upon their theoretical learning by applying knowledge, practicing skills, connecting with nurses and other medical professionals, and creating opportunities to work with diverse populations. As a result, students begin to hone their nurse identity, and build confidence and self-esteem. Importantly, the development of a nursing identity through clinical placement work is improved by integrating opportunities that increase belongingness. Campus climate plays a significant role in creating the environment necessary for belongingness to flourish and leads to enhanced student learning. Taking the role of positive campus climate into consideration, this article argues that instructors supervising undergraduate nursing students in clinical learning environments must create inclusive climates for their students to increase positive educational outcomes. Specific recommendations for creating inclusive clinical learning environments are provided.

The Role of Minority Stress in Psychological Distress and Hazardous Drinking Among Sexual Minority College Student Victims of Intimate Partner Violence.

Sexual minority, individuals who are not heterosexual, college students experience high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV), which is linked to a myriad of deleterious outcomes. However, little work has evaluated whether there are differences in IPV outcomes among sexual minority college students as compared to heterosexual college students. Further, the extent to which minority stress at the institutional and individual level relates to IPV outcomes among sexual minority students is understudied. As such, the purpose of the current study was to evaluate IPV outcomes in a large sample of undergraduate students attending 18 medium- to large-sized universities across the contiguous U.S. Results supported that sexual minority victims of IPV had more anxious and depressive symptoms than heterosexual victims of IPV but were not more likely to engage in hazardous drinking. Further, analyses supported that several campus-level (but not individual-level) indicators of minority stress moderated the relation between IPV victimization and negative outcomes among sexual minority students, such that the association between IPV and negative outcomes was stronger among students embedded in campuses with higher levels of minority stressors. Results support the critical importance of interventions addressing campus-level minority stressors to reduce deleterious IPV outcomes among sexual minority college student victims.

Campus climate impacts on sexual violence: a Bayesian comparison of undergraduate and community colleges.

OBJECTIVE: Sexual violence is endemic on college campuses. Four-year campuses present high-risk environments for sexual violence and heavy episodic drinking is a robust risk factor for victimization. However, limited literature exists on sexual violence at two-year institutions, with most research focused on four-year campuses. We examined whether campus climates affect sexual violence prevalence rates. PARTICIPANTS: Sexual misconduct campus climate data from two-year and four-year campus students. METHODS: We used Bayesian logistic regressions to compare sexual victimization odds between two- and four-year campuses. RESULTS: Four-year students were twice as likely to have experienced sexual victimization and 2.5 times more likely to engage in heavy episodic drinking compared to two-year students. The risk of sexual victimization associated with heavy episodic drinking was reliably similar across campus types. CONCLUSIONS: Campus climates reliably impact student's risk of sexual victimization. Based on these findings, two- and four-year campuses may need to implement distinct prevention services.

Associations between campus climate perceptions and food insecurity among undergraduates at a public university.

Objective:Food-insecure college students have expressed frustration toward their academic institution for failing to meet students' needs. However, it is unclear whether campus climate perceptions are related to food insecurity status. We examined the association between campus climate surrounding health and food insecurity status among college students.Participants:Participants were undergraduate students (n = 1378) enrolled at a public university.Methods:We used secondary data from the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II (ACHA-NCHA-II) with campus-specific measures of campus climate and food insecurity status.Results:Findings showed that students with less favorable views of campus climate were between 1.85 and 1.74 times more likely to be food insecure, even after adjusting for demographics and financial hardship.Conclusions:Future research is needed to better understand how students' campus climate perceptions can inform programs that effectively address food insecurity on college campuses.

Sexuality Discourses and LGBQ Students' Interpretations of Campus Climate in the Contemporary US.

Recent US studies showed that perceptions of campus climate vary considerably across individual LGBQ students, with some students reporting friendly climates and others reporting persistent hostility. Although researchers have identified several factors that contribute to the perceptual variations, they have paid limited attention to the role of sexuality discourses. The present study sought to fill this gap in the literature by analyzing in-depth interviews. The analysis showed that LGBQ students drew on two major discourses to guide their interpretations of campus climate. A majority of students drew on post-closet discourse to celebrate their visibility on campus, LGBQ-friendly courses, and straight classmates' positive reactions. A smaller number of students drew on queer discourse to question the meaning of LGBQ students' visibility and criticize heterosexist biases in classrooms. Overall, these results highlighted the importance of the competing discourses, which set LGBQ students' expectations and guided their interpretations of campus experiences.

Why Do Students Participate in Campus Sexual Assault Climate Surveys?

The purpose of the current study is to explore students' reasons for participating in a campus sexual assault climate survey to determine if patterns exist based on various identities and experiences. More specifically, we were interested in the most frequently reported reasons for participating, and whether they differed by key demographic variables. As part of a campus climate survey administration at two campuses, 4,020 students responded to survey questions asking why they participated in the survey (Sample 1, n = 2,937 and Sample 2, n = 1,083). To examine which demographic variables predicted reasons for taking the survey while controlling for other potential correlates, we conducted logistic regression analyses. The reasons provided by students as to why they completed the campus climate survey differed by identity characteristics, suggesting that researchers must consider the demographic makeup of their institutions when designing sampling and recruitment plans and tailoring them to their student populations. For example, while gender emerged as salient for differing reasons for participation (e.g., women more likely to participate because of the issue's importance and wanting their opinions heard more), intersectional analysis by race and gender indicates that White men (and Asian men, in Sample 1) most consistently indicated different reasons for participation, with significantly greater odds than their White and Asian women counterparts to participate for the cash incentives. This information could help improve the recruitment of representative samples for campus sexual assault surveys and therefore provide more accurate data that can be used to deliver effective intervention and prevention efforts.

Perceptions of Institutional Response to Sexual Assault Amongst College-Based Victim Advocates.

Federal law in the United States mandates that institutions of higher education address sexual assault within their communities. Colleges and universities have increasingly hired full-time professionals to manage response efforts, including campus-based victim advocates. Campus-based advocates provide emotional support, help students access and understand report options, and ensure students receive appropriate accommodations. Very little is known about the experience or perceptions of campus-based victim advocates. In this study, 208 professional campus-based advocates from across the United States completed an anonymous online survey focused on their perceptions of campus response to sexual assault. Multiple regression analysis was applied to investigate how psychosocial factors (burnout, secondary trauma, and compassion satisfaction) and organizational factors (perceptions of leadership, organizational support, and community relational health) were associated with advocate perceptions of institutional response to sexual assault. Findings indicate that while advocates experience burnout and secondary trauma, and have lower than average compassion satisfaction scores, these psychosocial outcomes do not influence their perception of response efforts. However, all the organizational factors significantly contribute to how advocates view response. The more positively advocates viewed leadership, campus support, and relational health, the more positive they viewed the response efforts on campus. In order to improve response efforts, administrators should engage in meaningful training on sexual assault, include campus advocates in high-level discussions of campus sexual assault and ensure appropriate resources are provided to advocacy services.

Campus climate and sense of belonging: Implications for the mental health outcomes of Asian American graduate students.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test a conceptual framework examining the interrelationships among campus climate, sense of belonging, anxiety, depression, and flourishing using a sample of Asian American graduate students. Methods: Secondary analysis of the Healthy Mind Study data from Fall 2019-Spring 2020 was conducted using a path analysis controlling for gender and perceptions of current financial situation as stressful. Results: Findings indicated that neither campus climate measured as perceptions of the climate for students from diverse backgrounds nor campus climate measured as perceptions of overall campus climate directly affected any of the outcome variables. Moreover, it was found that sense of belonging fully mediated the relationship between each campus climate and outcome variable. Conclusions: Sense of belonging is important to consider when evaluating campus climate and mental health outcomes among student populations. There are implications for college administrators responsible for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and programs.

"There Are Good and Bad Elements to It for Sure": Students' and Faculty/Staff's Perceptions of the Title IX Mandated Reporting Policy.

Faculty, staff, and students employed by or who serve as representative of universities in the United States are required by the Title IX federal law to report all instances of sexual harassment, discrimination, and sexual assault on college campuses. Despite the well-intended purpose of the Title IX regulations, less is known about campus communities' experiences and perceptions of this "mandated reporting," and its influence on disclosure. This exploratory mixed-methods study examines student (n = 88) and faculty and staff (n = 77) thoughts, concerns, and experiences regarding this policy at a mid-sized Northeastern University. Participants were recruited utilizing a campus lab system, with supplemental recruitment through student-life offices on campus. Data were collected via an anonymous survey hosted on the Qualtrics platform. Descriptive statistics were conducted for quantitative responses, whereas thematic analysis was utilized to analyze open text responses. Descriptive statistics demonstrate that the majority of participants (students and faculty/staff) were aware of their "mandated reporter" status. Additionally, students and faculty/staff varied regarding their support of the policy and the majority of faculty/staff had not had students disclose sexual violence to them and thus, had not reported any incidences of sexual violence to the university. Results of the thematic analysis further highlight the complexity of students and faculty/staff views' regarding the "mandated reporter" policy illustrating positive and negative perceived impacts of this policy, as well as several suggestions for improvement. Implications for research and practice are framed within the literature on Title IX, sexual harassment, and violence in the context of universities.

Don't Be Too Political: Depoliticization, Sexual Orientation, and Undergraduate STEM Major Persistence.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) students persist in STEM majors at a lower rate than their heterosexual peers. This study posits that heteronormativity, as an instance of depoliticization in STEM affecting LGBQ students, could be a primary contributing factor. Using national, longitudinal data from the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA, this study tested LGBQ-related college experiences to determine if they help explain the retention gap between LGBQ STEM students and their heterosexual peers. Through multilevel regression modeling, we found that LGBQ status is not a significant predictor of retention in STEM after controlling for LGBQ-related experiences. The results suggest that LGBQ-related and other politicized experiences predict lower retention in STEM for heterosexual students, meaning a culture of depoliticization in STEM may be detrimental to more students than those in minoritized social identity groups.

The role of campus environment on bystander intentions and behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined students' perceptions of campus environmental factors related to bystander intentions and behaviors, and if intentions mediated the relationship between students' perceptions and behaviors. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 274 students at a southern university who observed a situation they believed was, or could lead to, a sexual assault. METHODS: Participants completed an online campus climate survey in April 2015. RESULTS: Nearly 70% reported intervening, 21.5% did nothing, 9.5% waited to see if they needed to intervene. Students' knowledge of campus policies and procedures and their bystander intentions were associated with bystander behaviors. Students' knowledge of campus policies and procedures and being female were related to bystander intentions. The indirect path between being female, bystander intentions, and taking action, as well as the indirect path between knowing campus policies and procedures, bystander intentions, and taking action were significant. CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide important implications for prevention programing.

Racial and ethnic differences in perceptions of campus climate related to sexual violence.

Objective: To assess perceptions of university institutional climate related to sexual violence and whether these differed by race/ethnicity. Participants: Matriculated undergraduates > age 18 (n = 1028). Methods: Students were invited via campus email to participate in an online survey. Results: Overall, only 20% agreed that the university is creating an environment in which unwanted sexual experiences seemed common or normal, but these findings differed by race. Black students were more likely than their white peers to feel the university is creating an environment in which unwanted sexual experiences seem common or normal (37.3% vs. 19.7%, p < .001) and creating an environment in which such instances were more likely to occur (33.3% vs. 13.4%, p < .001). Conclusions: Data suggest that while students generally perceive that the university is working to create a positive and safe climate, these perceptions vary by race. Further investigation is necessary to better understand the concerns of students of color.

Does Experiencing Racialized Aggressions on Social Media Influence Perceptions About the Campus Racial Climate?

The purpose of this study was to use structural equation modeling to examine how the experience of racialized aggressions on social media influenced the perceptions of campus racial climate for undergraduate students of color (n = 771). Findings suggest that students who experienced racialized aggressions on social media did report less positive perceptions of campus diversity climate. Given that in-person and online environments are growing evermore seamless for students, this has implications for campus climate and diversity programming.

Come Out, Get Out: Relations Among Sexual Minority Identification, Microaggressions, and Retention in Higher Education.

Heterosexism, in the form of microaggressions, contributes to hostile, anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) college campus climates, thereby limiting sexual and gender minority students' social engagement and academic persistence. Using Tinto's model of institutional departure, we examined the degree to which experiencing microaggressions affects sexual minority college students' retention as a function of their feelings of discomfort in the classroom. Mediation analyses were performed on a subsample of data from 152 self-identified LGBTQ college students at a southern university in the United States to examine relations among experiences of self-reported microaggressions, self-rated classroom discomfort, and expressed intentions to transfer from the university. Self-reported discomfort in the classroom accounts for the relation between experiences of microaggressions and LGBTQ students' intentions to transfer from the university. Specifically, LGBTQ students who experienced microaggressions more often reported greater discomfort in their classrooms and reported fewer intentions to continue studying at their university. Universities should strive to implement campus-wide programs that help minimize microaggressions, encourage cultural competency and comfort in the classroom, and combat anti-LGBTQ prejudice to better support students in their day-to-day academic endeavors. LGBTQ students who feel safe and supported in the classroom may be protected from heterosexism and social isolation and, thereby, may be more likely to persevere in their academic pursuits.

An exploratory analysis of factors related to reporting sexual assault to college officials by LGBTQ student survivors.

Sexual assault is a persistent problem on college campuses that disproportionately impacts sexual and gender minority identified students. Objective: This study explores how circumstances of the crime, disclosure to informal sources, training and campus climate are associated with reporting sexual assault to college officials by these students. Participants: A total of 409 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning college students who experienced sexual assault while attending their current four-year college. Results: Chi-square and t-test analysis found that reporting to college officials was significantly associated with the type of assault experienced, disclosure to a campus advocates, disclosure to a parent/guardian, and the campus climate for LGBTQ students. Conclusion: These findings suggest that practitioners and college officials may support reporting behavior amongst sexual and gender minority identified students through enhanced campus support systems and strategic educational efforts.