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University of Massachusetts Amherst
SARIS - Student Affairs Research, Information and Systems
Violent Behavior Survey  (S00-B)

Executive summary: Approximately one-third of students perceive violence between students in the residence halls to be a "very serious" or "somewhat serious" problem, with women more likely than men to rate it "very serious." Six percent of respondents reported having experienced at least one of six different violent behaviors on campus during the academic year by either a roommate/suitemate or a date/romantic partner. No students reported having been threatened with a lethal weapon (such as a knife or gun). Men were more likely than women to report having experienced at least one form of violent behavior. Three percent of all students surveyed reported having experienced on-campus violence from a roommate/suitemate, whereas four percent reported having experienced violent behavior on campus from a date/romantic partner. Less than one-quarter of victims said they reported to University staff an incident of violence they had suffered. Almost double this proportion reported having informed a friend about their being a victim of violence. One quarter of students reported having witnessed a violent incident on campus since the beginning of the academic year. Three-quarters of respondents said they would be "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to report a violent incident if they witnessed one.

On two Tuesday evenings, February 15 and 22, 2000, Project Pulse conducted a telephone survey for the Dean of Students Office to investigate the prevalence of violent behavior on campus. Pulse interviewers attempted to contact 1125 students who had been randomly selected by computer from the entire population of on-campus undergraduates in the University's database. Interviewers successfully contacted 880 of these students, and 666 (75.7%) agreed to be interviewed. The response rate for the survey was 59.2% and the sampling error is plus or minus approximately five percentage points. The final disposition of the sample is presented in Table 1 and a demographic summary of the respondents is presented in Table 2.

First, students were asked if they had resided in a UMass residence hall during the previous semester. The 41 students who had not were thanked and asked no further questions because most of the survey questions would be inapplicable to them. The remaining 626 students comprised the sample for the remainder of the survey.

Students were asked to rate the seriousness of the problem of violence between students in the residence halls at UMass. About one-third of students rated the problem "very" or "somewhat" serious (see Figure 1). Women were significantly more likely than men to perceive the problem of violence in the residence halls to be "very" or "somewhat" serious (43.4% v. 31.1%, c2=9.84, p=.002).

Figure 1: How serious a problem do you think violence between students is in the residence halls at UMass?

The 517 respondents with a roommate or suitemates were asked whether or not they had experienced various behaviors "that happen sometimes between students who are roommates" on campus during the academic year. Interestingly, White students were significantly more likely to have a roommate or suitemates than were students of color (85.7% v. 71.0%, c2=15.22, p=.000). Figure 2 details the proportions of these 517 students who reported having experienced each of seven different types of violent behavior from a roommate/suitemate. As illustrated, the two types of violence experienced by the largest proportions of students were threats of bodily harm; and being pushed, shoved or grabbed in anger. No students reported having been threatened with a lethal weapon (such as a knife or gun) by a roommate or suitemate. Altogether, 2.5% (n=13) of the 517 students with a roommate or suitemate experienced at least one form of violent behavior from a roommate or suitemate. These thirteen students were asked if the offending roommate/suitemate was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the violent event. Four students (33.3%) indicated that alcohol or drugs were involved and another two students (16.7%) said that they were not sure.

The 413 respondents who reported having dated or been romantically involved with someone during the academic year were asked if they had spent time on campus with a date or romantic partner. Nearly all of these students (91.8%, n=379) said "yes." Interestingly, White students were significantly more likely than students of color to report having dated or been romantically involved with someone during the year (71.4% v. 48.0%, c2=24.31, p=.000). The 379 students who had spent time on campus during the academic year with a date or romantic partner were asked if they had experienced various behaviors "that happen sometimes between people who are dating or romantically involved" (see Figure 2). The three types of violence experienced by the largest proportions of respondents were being pushed, shoved or grabbed in anger; being slapped in anger; and being scratched, kicked, bitten or punched in anger. No students reported having been threatened with a lethal weapon such as a knife or gun by a date or romantic partner. Altogether, 6.5% (n=24) of the 379 respondents reported having experienced at least one form of violent behavior on campus from a date or romantic partner. These 24 students were asked if their date or romantic partner was under the influence of alcohol or drugs when the violent incident occurred. Almost half of the students (47.8%, n=11) reported that alcohol or drugs were involved.

Figure 2. Proportions of students who reported experiencing each of six violent behaviors on campus
(Note: See accompanying text for important details pertaining to percentages.)

Figure 3 illustrates the proportions of all 626 students surveyed who reported experiencing each of the seven violent behaviors about which they were questioned. Of all 626 students surveyed, 6.1% (n=38) reported having experienced at least one of the violent behaviors. Men were more likely than women to report having experienced at least one form of violent behavior on campus (9.4% vs. 3.3%, c2=9.91, p=.002). Three percent (n=18) of all students surveyed reported having experienced on-campus violence from a roommate/suitemate. Men were more likely than women to report having experienced violent behavior from a roommate/suitemate on-campus (5.2% vs. .9%). Four percent (n=24) of all respondents reported having experienced on-campus violence from a date/romantic partner. The difference between the proportion of men (5.6%) and women (2.4%) who reported having experience this type of violence was not statistically signficant at the .01 level. Table 3 provides a detailed breakdown of the numbers of women and men who reported experiencing each type of violence.

Figure 3. Proportion of all students surveyed who reported having experienced each type of violent behavior on campus

Seven of the 15 individuals who reported a threat of bodily harm also reported having experienced at least one form of physical violence. Five percent (n=30) of respondents reported having experienced at least one form of physical violence. Of these 30 students, 11 reported experiencing more than one form.

Students who experienced violence on campus during the academic year were asked if they reported the violence to a University staff member. Less than one-quarter of victims (22.0%, n=11) had reported an incident of violence they had suffered. Almost double this proportion (39.6%, n=19) reported having informed a friend about their being a victim of violence.

Respondents were asked, "to the best of your knowledge, how many of your friends or acquaintances here at UMass have experienced violence from someone they dated or with whom they were romantically involved?" One-quarter of respondents (24.8%, n=153) said they knew at least one person at UMass who had experienced such violence.

One quarter of students (25.7%, n=159) reported having witnessed a violent incident on campus since the beginning of the academic year. Students were asked how likely they would be to report to a University staff member an incident of violence on campus that they witnessed. Three-fifths of respondents (79.5%, n=484) said they would be "very" or "somewhat" likely to do so. Women were significantly more likely than men to indicate that they would be "very likely" to report a violent incident (see Figure 4). When asked to whom they would be most likely to report an incident of violence on campus, half of respondents (53.3%, n=308) said the UMass Police, and 35.6% (n=206) said a resident assistant.

Figure 4. If you were to witness a violent incident on campus, how likely would you be to report the incident to a University staff member?

Several questions addressed on-campus information-sharing about the subject of violence. Approximately half of the respondents (52.2%, n=322) said that instructors had discussed the issue of domestic or dating violence in their classes. A larger proportion of students (60.4%, n=372) reported having discussed the issue of violence with friends at UMass. Women were significantly more likely than men to have done so (67.1% v. 52.4%, c2=13.70, p=.000). About one-quarter of students (26.2%, n=162) said they had attended "a workshop or information session that dealt with Date Rape or Sexual Assault," and 19.0% (n=118) said they had attended "a workshop or information session that dealt with Domestic or Dating Violence." Differences between women's and men's responses to these questions were not statistically significant at the .01 level.

-- Meg Kluge & Elizabeth Williams

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