Examining the Intersection of Disability Status, Sexual Identity, Gender Identity, and Victimization Among College Students

ABSTRACT

Research often finds persons with a disability, persons who are transgender non-conforming (TGNC), or who are sexual minorities experience increased victimization risk. Less research has examined how these identities intersect to impact victimization risk. Thus, our study adds to the literature by examining how these identities intersect to influence risk of violent, sexual, and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization among a national-level sample of college students. In doing so, we explore the interactions between having any disability and being TGNC and being a sexual minority on victimization risk. In addition, specific disability types are explored for their potential interactive effects. Findings show increased risk of sexual victimization and IPV victimization among those who identify as TGNC and have a disability. Specific disability types, speech and mobility, interacted with gender identity to impact risk. Our findings suggest the need for universities to implement inclusive and culturally competent prevention and intervention efforts.

KEYWORDS:

• College student
• trangender non-conforming
• disability
• victimization

Acknowledgment

The opinions, findings, and conclusions presented/reported in this article/presentation are those of the author(s), and are in no way meant to represent the corporate opinions, views, or policies of the American College Health Association (ACHA). ACHA does not warrant nor assume any liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information presented in this article/presentation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Studies vary in their inclusion of different sexual and gender identities, as well as the terminology used to refer to these identities. Thus, throughout the literature, we employ the language (e.g., LGB, non-heterosexual, sexual orientation) used in the specific study being referenced.

2. Respondents were also asked in a separate question if they were transgender. If they indicated no and indicated they were a woman/female on the gender identity variable, we coded them as woman/cisgender on our final gender identity variable. If they indicated no and that they were male at birth, we coded them as man/cisgender on our final gender identity variable. Two members of the research team reviewed the write-in responses to the gender identity variable, and reached agreement as to responses that could not be identified for coding.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Leah E. Daigle

Leah E. Daigle is Distinguished University Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. Her most recent research focuses on repeat victimization of college women and responses women use during and after being sexually victimized. Her other research interests include the development and continuation of victimization across the life course. On these topics, she has published numerous peer-reviewed articles that have appeared in outlets such as Justice Quarterly, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, and Victims and Offenders. In addition, she is author of Victimology: The Essentials (3rd ed.), co-author of Criminals in the Making: Criminality Across the Life Course (2nd ed.), Victimology (2nd ed.), and Unsafe in the Ivory Tower: The Sexual Victimization of College Women, which was awarded the 2011 Outstanding Book Award by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. She was awarded the 2020 Division of Victimology of the American Society of Criminology Bonnie S. Fisher Career Award, to recognize outstanding contributions to the field of Victimology over the career.

Katelyn P. Hancock

Katelyn P. Hancock is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social, Cultural, and Justice Studies at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Tennessee Tech University and her master’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She recently received her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice and Criminology from Georgia State University. Her research interests are in the area of victimization, primarily victimization of diverse groups, polyvictimization, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence. Her most recent publications appear in the Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, American Journal of Criminal Justice, and the Journal of Criminal Justice Education. She was the recipient of the 2020 Graduate Student Leadership Award and the 2021 Excellence in Teaching Award in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Georgia State University. She is also a past ACJS Doctoral Summit Fellow and recently was awarded the SCJA’s Outstanding Doctoral Student Award for 2022.

Christina Policastro

Christina Policastro is a UC Foundation Associate Professor of Criminal Justice in the Department of Social, Cultural, and Justice Studies at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Her primary research interests are in the area of victimization with a specific focus on elder abuse and intimate partner violence. She has published articles on diverse topics including perceptions of intimate partner violence victims, pre-professionals’ knowledge of elder abuse, and trajectories of recurring victimization among persons with serious mental illness. Her most recent work appears in Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, and Criminal Justice Review. In 2017, Dr. Policastro received the New Scholar Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences’ Division of Victimology. Dr. Policastro has also served on the executive board for the Southern Criminal Justice Association (2016-2019) and the executive board of ACJS’s Victimology Section (2019-2023).

Sarah L. Napper

Sarah L. Napper is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice in the Department of Criminal justice at Auburn University at Montgomery. Her primary focus and interest in research and education are in the areas of victimization with specific focus on the LGBQT+ community, victimization and mental health consequences, the use of victim services among college students on and off campus, and Greek life in the context of sexual victimization. Her work has appeared in Victims and Offenders, The Social Science Journal, Drug & Alcohol Review, and Criminal Justice Review.