Abstract
This study examined the link between ethnicity, early sexual victimization experiences and college sesual assault in a sample of 383 undergraduate women. One third of the sample (32.9%) had experienced some form of sexual assault during college (22% of whom reported that they had been raped), and 52 percent had experienced unwanted sexual activity before the age of 18 (17.5% of whom reported that a family member or trusted family friend asked for or forced sexual activities). There were substantial differences among the Black, White, Hispanic and Asian women on two of four measures of college sexual assault. Black women had the highest and Asian women the lowest incidence of forced intercourse through verbal threats or pressure. Hispanic women had the highest and Black women the lowest incidence of attempted rape. Black and White women were almost three times as likely as Hispanic women to have had experiences that meet the legal definition of rape, but do not consider themselves rape victims. There were significant differences in college victimization experiences as a result of experiencing incest before age 18, experiencing extrafamilial sesual abuse before age 18, and the use of alcohol. Ethnicity interacted with alcohol use and early experiences with extrafamilial sexual abuse. However, the effect of incest on college victimization was similar for the women in the study, regardless of ethnicity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbey, A., Ross, L. T., McDuffie, D., & McAuslan, P. (1996). Alcohol and dating risk factors for sexual assault among college women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 20, 147–169.
Becerra, R. M. & Iglehart, A. P. (1995). Intrafamilial child sexual abuse in the Hispanic community: A prevention approach. Prevention in Human Services, 12, 135–146.
Berdahl, J. L., Magley, V. J., & Waldo, C. R. (1996). The sexual harassment of men? Exploring the concept with theory and data. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 20, 527–547.
Blalock, H. M. (1979). Social Statistics (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought Knowledge, consciousness and empowerment. Boston: Unwin Hyman.
George, L. K., Winfield, I., & Blazer, D. G. (1992). Sociocultural factors in sexual assault: Comparison of two representative samples of women. Journal of Social Issues, 48, 105–125.
Gidycz, C. A., Coble, C. N., Latham, L., & Layman, M. J. (1993). Sexual assault experience in adulthood and prior victimization experiences: A prospective analysis. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 17, 151–168.
Gilmartin, P. (1994). Rape, incest, and child sexual abuse: Consequences and recovery. New York: Garland.
Himelein, M. J. (1995). Risk factors for sexual victimization in dating: A longitudinal study of college women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19, 31–48.
Holaday, M., Leach, M.M., & Davidson, M. (1994). Multicultural counseling and intrapersonal value conflict: A case study. Couseling and Values, 38, 136–142.
Holland, D. C. & Eisenhart, M. A. (1990). Educated in romance: Women, achievement, and college culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kalof, L. (1993). Rape-supportive attitudes and sexual victimization experiences of sorority and nonsorority women. Sex Roles, 29, 767–780.
Kalof, L. & Wada, B. H. (1995). Sexual attitudes and experiences with sexual coercion: Exploring the influence of race and gender. Journal of Black Psychology, 21, 224–238.
Kercher, G. A. & McShane, M. (1984). The prevalence of child sexual abuse victimization in an adult sample of Texas residents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 8, 495–501.
Koss, M. P. & Dinero, T. E. (1989). Discriminant analysis of risk factors for sexual victimization among a nationale sampl of college women. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 242–250.
Koss, M. P., Gidycz, C. A., & Wisniewski, N. (1987). The scope of rape: Incidence and prevalence of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of higher education students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 162–170.
Koss M. P. & Oros, C. J. (1982). Sexual experiences survey: A research instrument investigating sexual aggression and victimization. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50, 455–457.
Loftus, E. F., Polonsky, S., & Fullilove, M. T. (1994). Memories of childhood sexual abuse: Remembering and repressing. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18, 67–84.
Mennen, F. E. (1995). The relationship of race/ethnicity to symptoms in childhood sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19, 115–124.
Mills, C. S. & Granoff, B. J. (1992). Date and acquaintance rape among a sample of college students. Social Work, 37, 504–509.
Muehlenhard, C. L. & Cook, S. W. (1988). Men’s self-reports of unwanted sexual activity. The Journal of Sex Research, 24, 58–72.
Muehlenhard, C. L. & Linton, M. A. (1987). Date rape and sexual aggression in dating situations: Incidence and risk factors. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 34, 186–196.
Razack, S (1994). What is to be gained by looking white people in the eye? Culture, race, and gender in cases of sexual violence. Signs, (Summer), 894–923.
Russell, D. E. H. (1986). The secret trauma: Incest in the lives of girls and women. New York: Basic Books.
Sanday, P. R. (1990). Fraternity gang rape: Sex, brotherhood, and privilege on campus. New York: Wiley.
Sanders-Phillips, K., Moisan, P. A., Wadlington, S., Morgan, S., & English, K. (1995). Ethnic differences in psychological functioning among Black and Latino sexually abused girls. Child Abuse & Leglect, 19, 691–706.
Scott, C. S., Lefley, H. P., & Hicks, D. (1993). Potential risk factors for rape in three ethnic groups. Community Mental Health Journal, 29, 133–141.
Shepela, S. T. & Levesque, L. L. (1998). Poisoned waters: Sexual harassment and the college climate. Sex Roles, 38, 589–611.
Sorenson, S. B. & Siegel, J. M. (1992). Gender, ethnicity, and sexual assault: Findings from a Los Angeles study. Journal of Social Issues, 48, 93–104.
Sorenson, S. B. & White, J. W. (1992). Adult sexual assault: Overview of research. Journal of Social Issues, 48, 1–8.
Struckman-Johnson, C. (1988). Forced sex on dates: It happens to men, too. The Journal of Sex Research, 24, 234–241.
Struckman-Johnson, C. & Struckman-Johnson, D. (1992). Acceptance of male rape myths among college men and women. Sex Roles, 27, 85–100.
Ward, S. K., Chapman, K., Cohn, E., White, S., & Williams, K. (1991). Acquaintance rape and the college social scence. Family Relations, 40, 65–71.
Way, N. (1995). “Can’t you see the courage, the strength that I have?” Listening to urban adolescent girls speak about their relationships. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19, 107–128.
Williams, L. (1992). Adult memories of childhood abuse: Preliminary findings from a longitudinal study. The Advisor, 5, 19–20.
Wyatt, G. E. (1985). The sexual abuse of Afro-American and white American women in childhood. Child Abuse and Neglect, 9, 507–519.
Wyatt, G. E. (1992). The sociocultural context of African American and White American women’s rape. Journal of Social Issues, 48, 77–91.
Wyatt, G. E., Guthrie, D., & Notgrass, C. M. (1992). Differential effects of women’s child sexual abuse and subsequen sexual revictimization. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 1–7.
Wyatt, G. E., Newcomb, M. D., & Riederle, M. H. (1993). Sexual abuse and consensual sex. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kalof, L. Ethnic differences in female sexual victimization. Sex Cult 4, 75–98 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-000-1005-9
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-000-1005-9