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Religious Coping: The Role of Religion in Attenuating the Effect of Sexual Victimization of College Women on Trust

  • Original Paper
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Review of Religious Research

Abstract

Recent reports concerning violence against women estimate that over 3 % of female college students are sexually assaulted each year. If other forms of non-consensual sexual contact are included in these numbers, the estimates climb to upwards of 20 %. With such high victimization rates, there is a resounding call for study of both offenders and victims in an effort to decrease these rates and to mitigate the social effects of being victimized. The present research focuses specifically on the latter, using a victimology-based approach. Using data from a longitudinal study of female college students, this paper outlines the effects of victimization on the generalized trust held by the victims. It is proposed that religion may serve as a means to attenuate these negative effects. Using ordered logistic regressions, religious service attendance is tested as a potential medium for the proposed attenuation.

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Notes

  1. This year, Penn State University has faced increased scrutiny as it has reportedly released a significant number of forcible sex offense reports from previous years. As a result, the U.S. Department of Education has launched an investigates to determine whether the university “has responded immediately and appropriately” to these reports.

  2. Other types of trust include trust directed toward specific others one has reason to trust (through previous interaction or reputation), and trust in others with whom one shares a common group membership (i.e., race, gender).

  3. Between waves 2 and 3, the sample size drops to 606. Thus, we utilize only the first two waves of data to eliminate the negative effects that attrition may cause.

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Acknowledgments

A previous version of this paper was presented at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology. We thank Carson Mencken and Jo-Ann Tsang for helpful comments on an earlier draft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97326, Waco, TX, 76798-7326, USA

    Jeffrey A. Tamburello, Kyle Irwin & Martha Gault Sherman

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  1. Jeffrey A. Tamburello
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  2. Kyle Irwin
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  3. Martha Gault Sherman
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Correspondence to Jeffrey A. Tamburello.

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Tamburello, J.A., Irwin, K. & Sherman, M.G. Religious Coping: The Role of Religion in Attenuating the Effect of Sexual Victimization of College Women on Trust. Rev Relig Res 56, 581–595 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-014-0165-2

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