Emerging adults who do or do not attend college: Exploration of their violence/harassment experiences as high school seniors

Victimization/perpetration (V/P) of interpersonal violence/harassment experienced by high school seniors prior to attending or not attending college was explored. Bullying, stalking, sexual harassment and sexual violence data were collected at 24 high schools via an electronic survey. A year after high school, 1,606 participants reported whether they attended college (4-year (n = 862); 2-year (n = 264); or not (n = 480). 4-year attendees were less likely to report V/P experiences occurring in high school compared with non-attendees, but few differences for high school V/P were evident for 2-year college attendees and non-attendees. Analyses comparing violence experiences of young adults while attending versus not attending college need to use high school violence experiences as a covariate. Because of this study’s results, longitudinal studies on career trajectory following high school need to include high school experience of interpersonal violence/harassment to determine its potential impact on college attendance.