The intersection of disabilities and the risk of sexual assault victimization among female college students
<b>Objective:</b> To expand understanding of how disability status, disability type, and contextual factors shape past-year sexual assault victimization among female college students. <b>Participants:</b> ACHA-NCHA III (Fall 2020-Spring 2022) data from 94,284 female students at U.S. 4-year institutions. <b>Methods:</b> Separate logistic regressions modeled five past-year outcomes-any sexual assault, sexually touched, attempted assault, completed assault, and relationship assault-with predictors for disability status and specific types (ADD/ADHD, learning disability, blindness/low vision, deaf/hearing loss, autism spectrum disorder, mobility/dexterity, and speech/language) and interaction terms with contextual factors: sexual orientation, Greek life membership, and alcohol/cannabis use frequency. <b>Results:</b> Female students with disabilities had higher predicted probabilities across all outcomes, with the largest disparities for ADD/ADHD, learning disability, and blindness/low vision. Interaction models revealed amplified risk among non-heterosexual and Greek-affiliated students and increased as alcohol and cannabis use frequency rose. <b>Conclusion:</b> Findings support disability-informed prevention through coordinated campus advocacy and disability services.
Authors
- Jason J. Burrow‐Sánchez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5505-1337)
- Michael Molenaar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0309-7768)
- Frankie Santos Laanan
Institutions
- University of Utah (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of American College Health
- Published
- 2025-11-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2025.2577661
- Primary Topic
- Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00