Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6478-5482

Date of Award

8-8-2023

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

Public Health

First Advisor

Kevin Swartout, PhD

Second Advisor

Daniel Whitaker, PhD

Third Advisor

Cynthia Stappenbeck, PhD

Abstract

Research on sexual violence (SV) perpetration has primarily focused on undergraduate college men, despite only 40% of young adults attending college in the U.S. This study aimed to understand men’s SV perpetration over time by tracking a cohort of adolescents through their high school and college-aged years, regardless of college attendance. Data were collected from 347 participants from seven high schools in Houston, Texas. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine within- and between-person differences in SV incidence as the primary outcome. SV perpetration showed a positive but attenuating increase over time. Additionally, men who reported college attendance in a given wave were significantly less likely to report SV perpetration. This study is one of the first to directly compares SV perpetration rates over time in men who attend and do not attend college. Findings suggest a need to include non-college attending men in SV perpetration research to improve generalizability. Future research should explore the possibility of latent classes of perpetration.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57709/35913226

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