Date of Thesis

Spring 2025

Description

Women are at a high risk of experiencing sexual misconduct or assault during their time in college (Graham et al., 2022). Studies suggest that many college students, specifically women, are likely to experience sexual coercion, which is defined as: unwanted sexual activity that occurs when you are pressured, threatened, tricked, or forced in a nonphysical way (Pugh & Becker, 2018; Office on Women’s Health, 2021). Coerced sex is not illegal in most states in the US, so sexual coercion is not seen as important as more aggressive forms of sexual assault that are illegal (Peterson, 2023). Furthermore, the research on sexual assault perpetration is even more lacking, as most of the research focuses on victimization.

This study used a mixed-methods approach, including a survey and interviews. Survey results revealed a correlation between the two superordinate categories in the SISS. In addition, those who mainly have sex with men scored higher overall on the SISS compared to those who mainly have sex with women. Lastly, the results of a Chi-square test measuring SISS prevalence rates across sorority status displayed no difference for sorority status on problematic versus non-problematic measures. Information from the interviews revealed important themes and context about sex on Bucknell’s campus that proved difficult to measure in a survey.

The data from this study demonstrates the need for further research about sexual coercion in diverse populations. Improvements to sexual education and further research regarding college campus culture will provide important information to inform education and prevention methods.

Keywords

Coercion, campus sexual misconduct, higher education

Access Type

Honors Thesis

Degree Type

Bachelor of Arts

Major

Psychology

First Advisor

Bill Flack

Second Advisor

Erica Delsandro

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Psychology Commons

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