EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Eighteen percent of UMass undergraduates living on campus reported attending a workshop or information session on either conflict resolution, domestic/dating violence, or rape/sexual assault since coming to the University; women were significanly more likely than men to say they had attended. The most frequently attended workshop dealt with the issue of rape and sexual assault. More than half the of female respondents said that violence is a serious problem on campus, while less than forty percent of the male respondents felt similarly. Four percent of the respondents reported having been victimized by their roommate or suitemate during September, October and November. Seven percent reported having been victimized by their romantic partner or someone they were dating during the same period. Only eleven percent of those who experienced violence reported it to a University staff member, while thirty-two percent reported it to a friend. Thirty-five percent reported having at least one friend who has been victimized by someone they dated or with whom they were romantically involved and eighteen percent said that this had happened to more than one friend. Almost one-third of the students said they witnessed a violent incident on campus during the Fall 1995 semester. Women were significantly more likely than men to say they would report violence if they witnessed or experienced it.
On Tuesday, November 28, 1995, Project Pulse conducted a telephone survey for the Dean of Students Office to investigate the prevalence of violent behavior on campus. Interviewers utilized a sample of 1,116 students who were randomly selected from the undergraduate, on-campus population (i.e., those living in residence halls). Interviewers successfully contacted 591 students, and 535 (90.5%) agreed to be interviewed. The final disposition of the sample is presented in Table 1 and the demographic profile of the sample is shown in Table 2. Sampling error for the survey is plus or minus approximately 4% at the 95% level of confidence.
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Table 1: Final Disposition
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|
N
|
% of Total
|
% of Contacted
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| In & cooperated |
535
|
47.9
|
90.5
|
| Contacted, but refused |
56
|
5.0
|
8.5
|
| Not contacted |
514
|
46.1
|
|
| Unobtainable phone number |
10
|
0.9
|
|
| Ineligible |
1
|
0.1
|
|
| Totals |
1,116
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
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Table 2: Sample Demographics
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N
|
%
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| Female |
244
|
48.3
|
| Male |
261
|
51.7
|
| First-year |
201
|
37.6
|
| Sophomore |
176
|
32.9
|
| Junior |
102
|
19.1
|
| Senior |
53
|
9.9
|
| Average age = 19.5 years | ||
Respondents were asked if they had attended a workshop or information session which dealt with either conflict resolution, domestic or dating violence, or date rape or sexual assault. One out of five (18%, n=96) students attended at least one workshop on these topics; Figure 1 shows the percentage breakdown for each topic. Women were significantly more likely than men to say they had attended at least one workshop (P <.05).
Next, respondents were asked, "How serious a problem do you think violence between students is in the residence halls at UMass?" The responses to this question (shown in Figure 2) tended to cluster around the two middle categories. Women were signifcantly more likely to say violence is a "somewhat serious" problem, while men were more likely to say that it is "not too serious" a problem (P <.001).
In the two middle sections of the survey respondents were questioned about violent experiences they may have had with their roommates or suitemates and their dating or romantic partners. Interviewers read the following statement to those respondents who reported having roommates or suitemates: "I'm going to read you a list of behaviors which happen sometimes between students who are roommates. Please tell me whether or not you have experienced each of the following here on campus since the beginning of the semester." A list of seven different violent behaviors were read to respondents and respondents reported whether they had experienced each. Less than 4% (n=17) of the sample reported being a victim of any of these forms of violence. Interviewers then read the same list of behaviors to those who reported having dated anyone or been romantically involved with anyone since the beginning of the semester. Seven percent (n=23) of the respondents reported that their partner had victimized them in at least one of these ways. The list of behaviors and the proportion of respondents experiencing each are shown in Figure 3.
Respondents were asked how many of their friends or acquaintances here at UMass have been victimized by someone they dated or with whom they were romantically involved. Thirty-five percent (n=188) reported having at least one friend who was a victim of this type of violence and 17.9% (n=96) said that this had happened to more than one friend. Next, the respondents were asked if they had witnessed a violent incident on campus since the beginning of the semester; almost one-third (31.2%, n=166) said "yes." Men were more likely than women to say they had witnessed a violent incident (P <.05). Of those who experienced violence during the fall semester 11.0% (n=7) reported it to a University staff member and 31.7% (n=20) reported it to a friend. Nevertheless, when all students (whether they experienced or witnessed violence or not) were asked to whom they would most likely report an incident of violence, 85.2% (n=546) said to a University staff member. When asked which University offices or staff members they would most likely report to, the two most frequent responses were the UMass police (41.5%, n=222) and a resident assistant (39.4%, n=211). Seventy-seven percent (n=407) said they would be "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to report witnessing a violent incident and 85.2% (n=448) said they would be "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to report experiencing violence. Women were significantly more likely than men to say they would report witnessing or experiencing violence (P <.001); see Figures 4 and 5.
In two separate questions, students were asked if they had discussed the issue of domestic or dating violence with their friends or in their classes. Fifty-three percent (n=284) said they had discussed the issue with their friends and thirty percent (n=160) said they discussed it in their classes. Women were significantly more likely than men to report having discussed this issue with friends (P <.001); see Figure 6. Half of the respondents (49.6%, n=265) said they would be "very" or "somewhat" likely to attend a workshop on courtship or dating violence if it was offered in their residence hall. Men were significantly less likely than women to say they would attend such a workshop (P <.001).