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Perceptions of University Policies to Prevent Sexual Assault on Campus Among College Students in the USA

Sexuality Research and Social Policy volume 14, pages 133–142 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to assess correlations between attitude, opinions, and perceptions of sexual assault on campus and perceptions of university policies related to sexual assault among college students. Students (N = 507) at a large public university in the intermountain west region of the USA completed a survey in February and March 2015. Multivariable multiple regression was conducted to test the association between perceptions of students regarding university polices on sexual assault and individual factors. The factors that were predictive for student perceptions of sexual assault policy importance included student gender, affiliation with a campus organization, previous report of sexual assault to university officials, and adherence to particular anti-rape attitudes. Attitudes and perceptions of sexual assault may be very important for successful implementation of university policies related to sexual assault.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the students who participated in this study and the contribution of Kyl Myers, Dr. Quinn, Anita Pascoe, Dr. Ainsworth, Dr. Goodman, Professor Rigby, Dr. Page, Dr. Bench, Dr. Metlon, Dr. Salari, Dr. Tabler, Dr. Chambless, Dr. Gaytan, Dr. Reynolds, Dr. Mayer, Christa Speilman, Amanda Bertana, Dr. Paret, and Dr. Martinez for the data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Utah, 380 S 1530 E, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Tara K. Streng & Akiko Kamimura

Authors
  1. Tara K. Streng
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  2. Akiko Kamimura
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Akiko Kamimura.

Ethics declarations

“All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.”

Funding

This project was supported by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, University of Utah.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Informed Consent

“Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.”

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Streng, T.K., Kamimura, A. Perceptions of University Policies to Prevent Sexual Assault on Campus Among College Students in the USA. Sex Res Soc Policy 14, 133–142 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-016-0245-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-016-0245-x

Keywords

  • Sexual assault
  • University policy
  • Safety
  • Violence prevention