Recent sexual victimization and drinking behavior in newly matriculated college students: a latent growth analysis

Abstract

College matriculation is a time of developmental and social change and is often a time of heavy drinking. Sexual victimization (SV) is prevalent in late adolescence and poses additional risk for problem drinking behavior. Thus, matriculating students with a SV history may be at heightened risk for maladaptive alcohol use while transitioning through the first year of college. Furthermore, victimization that has occurred close to college matriculation may confer particular risk for problem alcohol use, because the added stressor of coping with a SV while negotiating the transition into college may lead to risky drinking behavior. Therefore, examining the influence of SV timing (i.e., recency) on drinking patterns in freshman year was the aim of the present study. Matriculating undergraduates with a history of SV were assessed at six points during freshman year. Using latent growth curve modeling, we tested differences in trajectories of drinking behavior (i.e., alcohol use, binge drinking) between students who reported a recent SV and those who reported a more distal SV. Students endorsing a recent SV evidenced greater overall levels of alcohol use and higher levels of binge drinking than individuals with SV that was less recent. Moreover, the recent SV group showed significantly more variability in drinking outcomes over freshman year, with escalations mapping onto more salient periods of transition over the first college year. SV that occurs close to college entry is associated with specific and persistent risk for maladaptive drinking behavior in newly matriculated college students.