title: Prevalence of Past-Year Sexual Assault Victimization Among Undergraduate Students: Exploring Differences by and Intersections of Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, and Race/Ethnicity.
abstract: A critical step in developing sexual assault prevention and treatment is identifying groups at high risk for sexual assault. We explored the independent and interaction effects of sexual identity, gender identity, and race/ethnicity on past-year sexual assault among college students. From 2011 to 2013, 71,421 undergraduate students from 120 US post-secondary education institutions completed cross-sectional surveys. We fit multilevel logistic regression models to examine differences in past-year sexual assault. Compared to cisgender (i.e., non-transgender) men, cisgender women (adjusted odds ratios [AOR] = 2.47; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.29, 2.68) and transgender people (AOR = 3.93; 95% CI 2.68, 5.76) had higher odds of sexual assault. Among cisgender people, gays/lesbians had higher odds of sexual assault than heterosexuals for men (AOR = 3.50; 95% CI 2.81, 4.35) but not for women (AOR = 1.13; 95% CI 0.87, 1.46). People unsure of their sexual identity had higher odds of sexual assault than heterosexuals, but effects were larger among cisgender men (AOR = 2.92; 95% CI 2.10, 4.08) than cisgender women (AOR = 1.68; 95% CI 1.40, 2.02). Bisexuals had higher odds of sexual assault than heterosexuals with similar magnitude among cisgender men (AOR = 3.19; 95% CI 2.37, 4.27) and women (AOR = 2.31; 95% CI 2.05, 2.60). Among transgender people, Blacks had higher odds of sexual assault than Whites (AOR = 8.26; 95% CI 1.09, 62.82). Predicted probabilities of sexual assault ranged from 2.6 (API cisgender men) to 57.7% (Black transgender people). Epidemiologic research and interventions should consider intersections of gender identity, sexual identity, and race/ethnicity to better tailor sexual assault prevention and treatment for college students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, 130 DeSoto Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA. robert.ws.coulter@pitt.edu.|Center for LGBT Health Research, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. robert.ws.coulter@pitt.edu.
authors.forename: Robert W S
authors.initials: RWS
authors.lastname: Coulter
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, 130 DeSoto Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mair
authors.affiliation: Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Center for LGBT Health Research, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.|Department of Veterans Affairs, Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Blosnich
authors.affiliation: Center for LGBT Health Research, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.|Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Derrick D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, College of Social Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Heather L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: McCauley
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D019548:Crime Victims; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044382:Population Groups; D015995:Prevalence; D012742:Sex Offenses; D063106:Transgender Persons; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Gender identity; Race/ethnicity; Sexual assault; Sexual identity; Undergraduate students