Victimization and Information Interest and Receipt Among College Students: A Comparative Exploration of Sexual and Gender Identity

Many college students who have been victimized develop negative physical or mental health effects, for which they need help or information to manage or resolve, yet, they may be faced with barriers to seeking information or services. These barriers are likely exacerbated and/or different for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and others (LGBTQ+) students. Few studies have examined help-seeking among LGBTQ+ college students, and there is a dearth of research exploring information-interest, such as wanting information on violence prevention as it relates to gender and sexual identity, and how victimization may differentially impact this form of help-seeking. Thus, the current study fills this gap by exploring how being interested in, receiving, and being interested in but not receiving sexual assault/relationship and violence prevention information differ across sexual and gender identity and whether being a nonheterosexual or transgender/nonbinary+ victim influences these behaviors. Findings show that nonheterosexual and transgender/nonbinary+ college students have greater interest in receiving information. At the multivariable level, violence prevention information models suggest similar effects across gender and sexual identity. In models examining sexual assault/relationship violence prevention, the effect of sexual victimization on interest in receiving information is strongest for nonheterosexual students, but heterosexual students who have been sexually victimized had the highest probability of being interested in but not receiving information. The effect of intimate partner violence victimization on receiving information is slightly stronger for heterosexual students. In light of these findings, it may be beneficial for colleges/universities to provide additional trainings/information focused on general violence prevention and to work toward implementing training modules and information in less heteronormative ways.