Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Subst Use Misuse. 2024;59(13):1879-1885. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2024.2383975. Epub 2024 Aug 13.
Sexual violence is a major public health concern that has a detrimental impact on mental health, physical health, and academic performance. College students represent a population that is at an increased risk of experiencing sexual violence. Alcohol use, and more specifically, heavy drinking during pregaming events, is associated with increased risk of sexual violence. Studies have demonstrated that protective behavioral strategies have effectively reduced heavy drinking and the risk of alcohol-related consequences, including sexual violence victimization.
This study aims to examine the association between experiences of sexual violence in college and subsequent use of pregaming protective strategies.
Data from 468 college students (67% female, 33% male) were analyzed. Over 42% of participants reported experiencing sexual violence in college. While adjusting for pregaming frequency and sex, results revealed that those who reported experiencing sexual violence in college were significantly less likely to use pregaming protective behavioral strategies compared to those without such experiences. Specifically, survivors of sexual violence were less likely to report using the protective behavioral strategies of minimizing intoxication, as well as behaviors related to safety and familiarity (e.g., using a designated driver after pregaming).
The findings have important implications for interventions aimed at empowering survivors of sexual violence. Future research should focus on understanding survivor's motives and mechanisms to use pregaming protective behavioral strategies to reduce the risk of re-victimization.
性暴力是一个严重的公共卫生问题，对心理健康、身体健康和学业成绩都有不利影响。大学生是一个性暴力风险增加的群体。饮酒，特别是在预饮活动期间大量饮酒，与性暴力风险增加有关。研究表明，保护性行为策略有效地减少了大量饮酒和与酒精相关的后果（包括性暴力受害）的风险。
本研究旨在探讨大学生性暴力经历与随后使用预饮保护策略之间的关系。
对 468 名大学生（67%女性，33%男性）的数据进行了分析。超过 42%的参与者报告在大学期间经历过性暴力。在调整预饮频率和性别后，结果表明，与没有此类经历的人相比，报告在大学期间经历过性暴力的人使用预饮保护性行为策略的可能性显著降低。具体来说，性暴力幸存者不太可能报告使用最小化醉酒等保护性行为策略，以及与安全和熟悉度相关的行为（例如，在预饮后使用指定司机）。
这些发现对旨在增强性暴力幸存者权能的干预措施具有重要意义。未来的研究应重点了解幸存者使用预饮保护性行为策略的动机和机制，以降低再次受害的风险。
