Understanding the disclosure of sexual violence among college women.

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Project Summary/ Abstract Rape and sexual assault are common experiences on the university campus in the United States; approximately 20% of women experience attempted or completed rape or sexual assault while in college and approximately 18% of first-year undergraduate women report having experienced attempted or completed rape or sexual assault since age 14. The field currently lacks experimental studies that investigate how different methodological approaches affect sexual violence (SV) disclosure. Testing theoretically-based hypotheses via experimental design will advance the field of SV measurement by establishing an evidence base founded upon causal inference. Using the conceptual model for the relationship of social support to health, we propose to investigate the measurement issues that affect disclosure of SV via survey among first-year undergraduate women to achieve the following aims: Aim 1. Conduct a randomized 2x2 factorial survey experiment, varying mode of administration (face-to-face interview vs. computer-assisted self-interview) and introductory language (supportive vs. neutral) to understand factors associated with disclosure. Aim 2. Examine how social support affects satisfaction with survey participation. Aim 3. Explore how social support in everyday life influences the disclosure of SV and reactions to participation in the survey using structural equation modeling. In order to achieve these aims, we will enroll 400 first-year undergraduate women at Emory University, who are at least 18 years old, using a census approach. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of four groups as outlined in Aim 1. Participants will complete a survey on topics that include: demographic background, perceived social support, experiences of SV, social reactions to disclosure of SV, posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, social desirability, and reactions to research participation. We will use logistic and linear regression, as well as structural equation modeling to analyze the data. To our knowledge, this study is the first to operationalize and systematically test the provision of social support within a measurement environment. The factorial design tests two forms of social support, either or both of which could be implemented if proven to facilitate disclosure and/or reduce survivors' negative reactions to survey participation. Given the immediate and long-term mental health benefits associated with a SV disclosure that is met with social support, this proposal offers a significant innovation to SV measurement. Conceptually, this study unites the literature on best practice methodology from research within the United States and in low- and middle-income countries by testing face to face interviewing, as ethical best practice. This proposal would make a timely and novel contribution to the field of SV measurement, informing best practice for data collection in the White House Task Force Campus Climate Surveys, and its findings could be applied to efforts related to SV surveillance and screening.