Long-term impacts of college sexual assaults on women survivors' educational and career attainments

ABSTRACTObjective: To examine the well-documented mental and physical health problems suffered by undergraduate women sexually assaulted while on campus with an exploration of how the trauma impacts a survivor's lifetime education trajectory and career attainment. Participants: In November and December 2015, researchers recruited US participants using an online crowdsourcing tool and a Listserv for sexual violence prevention and response professionals. Methods: Of 316 women who completed initial screening, 89 qualified to complete a Qualtrics survey. Eighty-one participants completed the online survey, and 32 participated in phone interviews. Results: Ninety-one percent of the participants reported health problems related to the assault that they attributed to difficulties they faced in their attainment of their education and career goals. Conclusions: The findings suggest the importance of simultaneously examining the effects of human capital losses and mental and physical health problems attributed to t...