This article reports on a research project that first assessed high school seniors on interpersonal violence victimization and then followed up with a re-assessment during the spring following college enrollment or non-enrollment; it discusses findings regarding victimization risk factors, including those that indicated few differences in interpersonal violence prevalence for college-attending and non-attending emerging adults.
It is well-established that rates of interpersonal violence (IV; physical and emotional intimate partner violence [IPV], non-consensual sexual contact [NCSC], and stalking) peak at 18–24 years of age. Most emerging-adult IV research has been conducted with college samples, making increased risk for IV in college a widely held, but perhaps unjustified, assumption. This nationally representative study (N = 1025) assessed high school seniors on IV victimization and re-assessed them the spring following college enrollment (n = 779) or non-enrollment (n = 246). Replicating prior research, the authors found few differences in prevalences of IV among college-attending and non-attending emerging adults. After controlling for demographics and baseline victimization, only clinically significant (impactful) physical IPV victimization differed between groups, with college conveying a protective effect (OR = 38, 95 percent CI: .15 – .99). Explication of proximal and distal factors that inform risk for IV among emerging adults on different trajectories is essential for improved prevention and response. (Published Abstract Provided)
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