Objective: The purpose of this study was to document the prevalence and describe the characteristics of alcohol-related sexual assault among middle and high school students.
Method: A Web-based, self-administered survey was used to collect data on 7th- through 12th-grade students (n = 1,037) in a large metropolitan area in the Midwest. A modified version of the Sexual Experiences Survey was used to ask students about their sexual victimization experiences so as to examine the involvement of alcohol within specific assault events. The sample was equally distributed by biological gender and ethnicity (white vs black) and was, on average (SD), 14 (2) years of age.
Results: Findings from the study indicate that alcohol was involved in approximately 12%-20% of the assault cases, depending on age and gender of the respondent. For females, the presence of alcohol during assault differed significantly based on the location at which the assault occurred, ranging from 6% (at the survivor's home) to 29% (at parties or someone else's home). Furthermore, alcohol-related assault among females was more likely to involve physical force than non-alcohol-related assault.
Conclusions: Results are discussed in light of the risk factors of alcohol-related assault among adolescents as well as the nature of social contexts that fosters alcohol-related sexual assault among both adolescents and college students.