Sexual minority college students' perceptions on dating violence and sexual assault / Elizabeth W. Ollen, Victoria E. Ameral, Kathlenn Palm Reed, Denise A. Hines

While the majority of research on dating violence(DV) and sexual assault (SA) in college students has focused on heterosexual counterparts. The current study sought to explore sexual minority college students' perceptions of the prevalence of DV and SA, risk and protective factors, and barriers to seeking help, using focus groups. A total of 14 sexual minority students ranging in age from 18 to 24 participated across 2 focus groups. Findings suggest the majority of the students perceived DV and SA among sexual minority individuals to be less common compared to their heterosexual counterparts. and to be less common on their campus compared to other colleges and universities. Students' reflection about risk and protective factors overlapped with those previously established among heterosexuals as well as factors unique to the sexual minority community. Students identified societal, community, and psychological-level barriers related to help-seeking. We provide recommendations for practice base on the current findings (e.g. colleges could expand current educational material about DV and SA to include more recognition of these issues for sexual minority students).

Psychology