The Co-Occurrence of Physical and Sexual Intimate Partner Violence among U.S. College Females

Social science researchers have been studying the social phenomena of violence amongst intimate partners for decades. One area that remains under-researched is the co-occurrence of physical and sexual violence by intimate partners. By overlooking this coexistence, the impact of dual-victimization on the victim is not fully understood, and the unique needs of victims experiencing both types of violence have likely been neglected. To fill this gap in research, the Longitudinal Study of Violence against Women data were used to explore co-occurring physical and sexual violence for female college students. Results indicate a statistically significant relationship between sexual victimization and having an intimate partner throw something at; push, grab, or shove; and hit his victim. Additionally, logistic regression revealed that being hit by an intimate partner is a predictor of sexual victimization. Implications for prevention and victim assistance, as well as directions for future research, are discussed