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Research shows that U.S. college students are at risk for a variety of victimization types. College students in Canada also experience similar types of victimization compared to U.S students, yet recent research shows that Canadian students are at a greater risk than U.S. college students of being victimized. Little is known, however, as to whether college-level factors influence victimization risk and how these risks may be different for U.S. and Canadian college students. Using the American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment data (ACHA-NCHA II), the current study builds upon past research by exploring the role of both individual and school characteristics and whether they are similarly related to risk of victimization in the two populations. The findings show that Canadian students are at higher risk for victimization and that some school-level factors play a role in predicting this risk for all students, with some variation in ones that matter for each country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A small body of research has identified a positive relationship between food insecurity and victimization risk, including intimate partner violence and sexual violence victimization as well as experiencing and witnessing childhood violence in the home. The question remains whether food insecurity is related to sexual victimization among college students, and if so, what mechanisms link the two. We use data from the American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment, a national sample of college students, to investigate these relationships. We find that low and very low food security increases the odds of sexual victimization, and that both are tied to increased odds of experiencing moderate to severe stress, depression, anxiety, binge drinking, and drug use. Institutions of higher learning may benefit from programs to address food insecurity. Doing so may have the corollary benefit of influencing mental health and health risk behaviors in ways that could reduce sexual victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on polyvictimization (i.e., experiencing multiple types of victimization) suggests that its effects are diverse and may be more severe than the effects of single-type victimization. Few studies have focused on polyvictimization among college students and how its experience may shape academic life. Thus, this study examines how polyvictimization (i.e., sexual, violent, and stalking—in the last 12 months) among college students relates to academic performance. Participants (N = 67,972) were drawn from the Spring 2019 administration of the American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment II. Findings show that polyvictims' grade point averages are lower than nonpolyvictims and polyvictims have higher odds of having their academic performance suffer connected to a variety of factors (mental health, physical health, and substance use). Students who experienced three types of victimization (compared to fewer) had the highest odds of having their academic performance harmed. These findings suggest extra attention be paid to polyvictimization as it relates to factors that shape academic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being fearful of crime is, unfortunately, a common experience. Research shows that many factors influence a person's fear of crime, demonstrating that certain groups are generally more fearful than others. Even though they are typically young, college students express being fearful of crime on and off campus. What has yet to be investigated is whether college students who attend school in the United States are fearful at similar levels to their Canadian counterparts. Further, the correlates of fear of crime may also be different. To explore these issues, data from the American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment II survey of U.S. and Canadian college students are used. Results show that Canadian college students generally perceive their safety as being higher than U.S. college students, even though they face elevated victimization risks. Further, some correlates of fear of crime differ for U.S. and Canadian college students. These findings suggest the need for additional cross-national comparative work to see if patterns generalize across contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]