Flying under the radar: Gender, violence and grade point average

Sexual assaults continue to be a prevalent issue on college campuses. Research has shown that being sexually assaulted is associated with adverse outcomes in college students' grade point average (GPA). However, self-reported history of sexual violence perpetration and its associations with GPA has not been studied at the college level. A history of sexual violence as either perpetrator or victim has not been extensively explored, particularly in individuals at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Questionnaire data were collected on 2068 students attending an HBCU who self-identified as men and women on various demographic and academic outcomes. The experience of sexual violence (perpetrator or victim) in the past year, age, and self-identified gender were evaluated as predictors of GPA. Results indicated that women and older individuals had higher GPAs (p <0.001), and these factors accounted for about 1% of the variance in GPA. In comparison, the addition of being a perpetrator of sexual violence augmented the variance and accounted for 2.3% (p < 0.001). These effects are small but significant predictors and open a new line of research into the traits of those who commit sexual assault on college campuses.