Weekly Drinking and Binge Drinking Mediate the Association Between Drinking Location and Sexual Coercion

The Relationship of Anti-Transgender Discrimination, Harassment, and Violence to Binge Drinking among Transgender Adults

Purpose: Using a minority stress paradigm, this paper examines the relationship between anti-transgender discrimination, harassment, and violence among transgender adults. Methods: Data from the 2015 U.S. National Transgender Survey were used to examine twenty types of anti-transgender experiences/problems (e.g., harassment at work, problems with police officials, verbal and physical assaults) in a sample of 27,715 transgender Americans aged 18 or older. Binge drinking during the previous month was the dependent variable, and eight control measures were examined in the multivariate analysis. Results: Experiencing any of the twenty types of anti-transgender discrimination, harassment, or violence increased the odds of binge drinking by 48%. Experiencing many such problems increased the odds of binge drinking by 104%. Multivariate analysis showed that anti-transgender discrimination, harassment, and violence remains a predictor of binge drinking even when other key measures are taken into account. Younger people, racial minority group members, and persons who were not married or "involved" were at particularly great risk. Conclusions: Consistent with the minority stress paradigm, the more different types of anti-transgender experiences people had, the more likely they were to engage in binge drinking. Targeted intervention needs to help transgender persons to avoid anti-transgender discrimination, harassment, and violence to the greatest extent possible, and to develop resiliency skills whenever they are victimized. This is particularly true for transgender persons who are younger, minority, and not "involved" in a relationship.

It's not just drinking, but where you drink: A daily diary study of drinking venue effects on sexual activity with new partners

It is well established that young adults' drinking is positively associated with sexual activity with new partners. While pharmacologic effects of alcohol (e.g., impaired sexual decision-making) can contribute to sexual activity with new partners, the context in which alcohol is consumed may also be important. We tested the hypothesis that drinking venues such as parties and bars increase the likelihood of sexual activity with new partners beyond any pharmacological effects of drinking quantity. Participants were 427 first-year men (aged 18-19). They reported on their relationship status and sociosexuality (i.e., attitudes/behaviors related to casual sex) at baseline and completed daily diary reports of drinking events (including number of drinks and venue) and sexual activity with new or previous partners over the span of 56 days. Drinking events at parties/bars (but not at home) increased the odds of sexual activity in the next four hours with new partners (but not with previous partners), even after controlling for the number of drinks consumed. Parties/bars are an integral part of facilitating sexual activity with new partners, and have effects independent of pharmacological alcohol effects, which has implications for reducing alcohol-related risky sexual activity. Interventions should not only target alcohol consumption, but where consumption takes place.

Perceived Realism and Wishful Identification: College Students' Perceptions of Alcohol Ads and Their Intentions to Sexually Coerce with or Without Using Alcohol

Sexual coercion is a serious health problem in the United States, and it is the most prevalent form of sexual victimization that occurs on college campuses. The present study aimed to identify factors, such as exposure to objectified women in alcohol advertisements, that may contribute to college students' intentions to sexually coerce with alcohol use and without alcohol use. We also investigated the potential effects of gender stereotypes, wishful identification of alcohol ads, perceived realism of alcohol ads, and alcohol expectancies related to sexual enhancement on students' intentions to coerce. An online experiment was conducted with 1208 students from a large Northwestern university. Participants were randomly assigned to two conditions in which they were exposed to alcohol advertisements that included either highly objectified images of women or low-objectified images of women. The regression analyses indicate beliefs in gender stereotypes were the most consistent predictor across women and men's sexually coercive intentions, regardless if alcohol was used. Wishful identification with models in alcohol advertisements was positively associated with intentions to coerce, and perceived realism of alcohol ads was negatively associated with intentions to coerce. For college men's intentions to sexually coerce using alcohol, there were significant interaction effects between exposure to highly objectified advertisements and gender stereotypes. For women's intentions to sexually coerce using alcohol, the interaction between wishful identification and perceived realism was significant. Education efforts are needed to deal with the endorsement of gender stereotypes on college campuses. Media literacy may help college students critically evaluate portrayals of women in the media, and thus, in turn, may help lower intentions to sexually coerce.

What Are the Chances? Perceived Risk of Sexual Victimization for Self and Others Among College Women

Awareness of vulnerability to a negative outcome is considered a necessary first step to risk reduction and prevention behaviors. Accordingly, sexual assault awareness programs have sought to inform college students of the prevalence of college sexual victimization and the risk factors that contribute. The goal of the current study was to consider the degree to which incoming college freshman women recognize their risk of experiencing sexual victimization and to examine whether risk factors such as alcohol use contribute to those perceived chances. Freshman women (N = 252) were recruited via email early in the Fall semester to participate in an online survey. As expected, women perceived their own chances of sexual victimization (21.4%) to be lower than those of the average freshman at the same university (43.7%). Prior sexual victimization, typical drinking, and expected hookups predicted higher perceived risk of being victimized. Only prior victimization predicted higher perceived risk of sexual victimization for others. On average, freshman women acknowledge their substantial risk of experiencing sexual victimization during their first year of college and overestimate the chances that others will be victimized. Findings show high awareness of sexual assault and its risk factors among college students but point toward a need for prevention that goes beyond education and awareness campaigns.

Know Your Safe Drinking Skills: Adaptation Strategies for the College Effect

Objective: The current study investigates the effects of an alcohol-prevention program delivered to college students in a formal classroom setting. Participants: The sample comprised 231 first-year college students who enrolled in a multisection “First Year Experience” course at a large northeastern university in the United States. Method: A naturalistic experiment was conducted, with a baseline evaluation at the beginning of the semester and a post-experiment evaluation near the end of the semester. Results: Social drinking attitudes, proximal drinking norm and the college effect are significant predictors of pre- and post-intervention episodic drinking frequency. The intervention reduced episodic drinking frequency as well as perceived distal and proximal drinking norms. It also increased drinking attitudes and did not change perceived efficacy or drinking-outcome expectancies. Conclusions: Practitioners could consider implementing a similar intervention to allow students to learn and practice safe drinking skills in the first year of their college life.