The Impact of Social Support and Relational Health on the Hookup Culture and Sexual Assault Victimization in a Sample of College Females
Open AccessSexual assault on college campuses has been a long-standing public health concern (Ullman et al., 1999). Female college students are at an increased risk for sexual assault victimization during their first year at college (Wade, 2017). Female survivors of sexual assault are also at an increased risk for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and alcohol or substance use (Campbell et al., 2009). On college campuses today, students who participate in the hookup culture endorse positive attitudes about hooking up, increased alcohol use, and hooking up behaviors (Sutton and Simmons, 2015; Wade, 2017). Participation in the hookup culture increases feelings of inclusivity (Wade, 2017), decreases loneliness, and has been found to fulfill attachment-related needs (Gentzler & Kurns, 2004; Owen & Finchman, 2011). Hooking up behaviors and participation in the hookup culture have also been found to predict sexual assault victimization on college campuses (Flack et al., 2007; Flack et al., 2015; Paul and Hayes, 2002; Paul et al., 2000; Sutton and Simmons, 2015; Wade, 2017). The current study explored the role of attachment style (anxious and avoidant), social support (quantity of social support and relational health), and the endorsement of the hookup culture on sexual assault victimization among female college students. Data was self-report and collected electronically via Qualtrics from 241 female undergraduate students from a mid-Atlantic university. Latent variable path analysis indicated that social support moderated the relationship between the endorsement of the hookup culture and sexual assault victimization, in which the relationship between the hookup culture and sexual assault victimization weakened when social support was strong. Results are discussed in the context of university counseling and campus-wide interventions.
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