Violence Against College Students and Its Situational Contexts: Prevalence, Patterns, and Policy Implications

Abstract

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data (n = 1,431) collected from 1995 through 2005 are used to examine the situational contexts associated with violence against college students. Findings from the conjunctive analysis indicate that violence against college students occurs in a diverse yet concentrated pattern of situational contexts. The most common context of violence experienced by college students is minor assaults against males that occur off-campus and in front of bystanders. Finally, although off-campus violence is relatively more common than on-campus violence, most incidents of campus violence share situational contexts that are similar to off-campus incidents. Implications of these results on future research and public policy on reducing students' victimization risks are discussed.