2008 Woodie Awards
Likelihood of abuse tied to when a woman begins drinking
Kiah Haslett
Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: News
Risks for sexual and physical assault for women may change in relation to when a student takes her first drink.
A new study released by the University of Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions discovered a relationship between when a woman chooses to drink and her risk of sexual and physical assault.
Behavioral psychologist Kathleen Parks surveyed 870 women for two years about their alcohol use, sexual activity, general and psychological health and any physical and sexual victimization experiences that occurred in the past year.
"Our objective was to look at changes in women's drinking and risks for victimization, both physical and sexual, over the transition from high school to the first year at college," Parks said in an e-mail interview.
The women fell into three categories: abstainers, "new" drinkers who began drinking during college and "continuous" drinkers who began in high school. Of the 870 women, 22 percent - 191 women - reported experiencing some form of victimization.
The surprising thing, Parks said, was which type of drinkers experienced what form of victimization.
"Women who became new drinkers in college were at increased odds of experiencing physical victimization," she said. "Women who were continuous drinkers and increased their drinking during college were at increased odds of experiencing sexual victimization."
And both new and continuous drinkers were more likely to experience victimization compared to abstainers.
In Nebraska, sexual assault constitutes any unwanted sexual contact, including penetration. Physical victimization is also called battery, or intentional violence.
"I think the correlation is really about where and who you are drinking with," said Jan Deeds, the director for the Women's Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
One in every four women in college is sexually assaulted, Deeds said, and the highest risk for assault partly occurs during the college age demographic.
New drinkers lack the tolerance to alcohol, which may make them more susceptible to physical victimization, Parks said. On the other hand, general risk-taking associated with drinking in high school put women at an increased risk for sexual victimization.
Deeds said the motives men might have to victimize an intoxicated woman stems from the framework of an American society still struggling with gender equality.
"I generally think (women are victimized) because they are still perceived as sexual objects and possessions to some extent - not as equal partners," she said. "Women are yelled at as they walk down the street and we tell our daughters from a very young age not to walk alone at night."
The results of the study may be used to develop prevention programs.
"We were specifically interested in the relationship between alcohol and victimization, including sexual victimization," Parks said. "Women are more likely to be sexually victimized than men."
Deeds stressed most men do not victimize women.
"The ones who do make it difficult for women to feel safe and trust other men," she said.
The next step, she said, would be to examine the common factors of victims' experiences. Deeds was also interested in a parallel study on the perpetrators of victimization.
"I would like to see how many male UNL students would admit to committing sexual assault or battery on some level," she said.
Parks recommended women have no more than one or two drinks in a social setting and to never drink without female friends nearby.
"You do not need alcohol to have fun. Do not increase your drinking during your first year at college," she said. "The odds are that one in five women will be victimized in an alcohol-related assault during their first year at school - don't let it be you."
Kiahhaslett@dailynebraskan.com
A new study released by the University of Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions discovered a relationship between when a woman chooses to drink and her risk of sexual and physical assault.
Behavioral psychologist Kathleen Parks surveyed 870 women for two years about their alcohol use, sexual activity, general and psychological health and any physical and sexual victimization experiences that occurred in the past year.
"Our objective was to look at changes in women's drinking and risks for victimization, both physical and sexual, over the transition from high school to the first year at college," Parks said in an e-mail interview.
The women fell into three categories: abstainers, "new" drinkers who began drinking during college and "continuous" drinkers who began in high school. Of the 870 women, 22 percent - 191 women - reported experiencing some form of victimization.
The surprising thing, Parks said, was which type of drinkers experienced what form of victimization.
"Women who became new drinkers in college were at increased odds of experiencing physical victimization," she said. "Women who were continuous drinkers and increased their drinking during college were at increased odds of experiencing sexual victimization."
And both new and continuous drinkers were more likely to experience victimization compared to abstainers.
In Nebraska, sexual assault constitutes any unwanted sexual contact, including penetration. Physical victimization is also called battery, or intentional violence.
"I think the correlation is really about where and who you are drinking with," said Jan Deeds, the director for the Women's Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
One in every four women in college is sexually assaulted, Deeds said, and the highest risk for assault partly occurs during the college age demographic.
New drinkers lack the tolerance to alcohol, which may make them more susceptible to physical victimization, Parks said. On the other hand, general risk-taking associated with drinking in high school put women at an increased risk for sexual victimization.
Deeds said the motives men might have to victimize an intoxicated woman stems from the framework of an American society still struggling with gender equality.
"I generally think (women are victimized) because they are still perceived as sexual objects and possessions to some extent - not as equal partners," she said. "Women are yelled at as they walk down the street and we tell our daughters from a very young age not to walk alone at night."
The results of the study may be used to develop prevention programs.
"We were specifically interested in the relationship between alcohol and victimization, including sexual victimization," Parks said. "Women are more likely to be sexually victimized than men."
Deeds stressed most men do not victimize women.
"The ones who do make it difficult for women to feel safe and trust other men," she said.
The next step, she said, would be to examine the common factors of victims' experiences. Deeds was also interested in a parallel study on the perpetrators of victimization.
"I would like to see how many male UNL students would admit to committing sexual assault or battery on some level," she said.
Parks recommended women have no more than one or two drinks in a social setting and to never drink without female friends nearby.
"You do not need alcohol to have fun. Do not increase your drinking during your first year at college," she said. "The odds are that one in five women will be victimized in an alcohol-related assault during their first year at school - don't let it be you."
Kiahhaslett@dailynebraskan.com
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