Male sexual violence victimization: Definitions, epidemiological profile, and psychological impact

Sexual violence or sexual assault refers to any forcible or non-forcible sexual activity where consent is not obtained or freely given. In comparison to female victims, there is a relative paucity of literature examining the characteristics and adverse health outcomes associated with male sexual assault as well as long-term consequences. Past studies have relied primarily on population-based survey data to estimate the prevalence of sexual assault and associated health outcomes. The main objective of this study was to enhance our understanding of male sexual assault through results obtained from three related projects. In the first study, data from the 2001-2005 National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) was used to construct an epidemiological profile of sexual assault among males. Using the NIBRS data for multiple years, significant age- and race-specific time-trends were observed among males. Results of this study indicated that despite a higher rate of sexual assault among young males, sexual assault incidents were reported by men of all age groups. In the second study, self-administered survey was used to understand the psychological impact of sexual violence victimization among males. The results of this study support previous findings that sexual victimization is associated with a range of health risk behaviors and negative psychological consequences among males. In addition, this study adds new information about the associations between sexual victimization and aggressive behaviors among males, including the co-occurrence of risk behavior such as alcohol and substance abuse. Finally, the findings of the third study also highlighted some important differences and similarities in the description of unwanted sexual experience among males and females. In comparisons to women, relatively little work has been done in the area of male sexual assault. For better understanding of different aspects of male sexual assault, more comprehensive and multidisciplinary approaches are needed. This study also demonstrated the importance of investigating male sexual assault using various data sources. Strong preliminary evidence has emerged from this study that supports and extends previous research and establishes the need for future in-depth investigations of the behavioral and psychological consequences of sexual violence victimization