A new study finds that nearly 1 of every 10 young adults has been a perpetrator of some type of coercive behavior or sexual violence during their lifetime. The study reports that there are 1 million victims of sexual violence each year.
The researchers surveyed more than 1,000 youths ages 14 to 21. Nine percent of respondents said they had perpetrated sexual violence. Some 8 percent of the respondents said they had made someone do something sexual knowing the other person did not want to participate in the act. Two percent said they had committed rape.
According to the research, the age when sexual violence was most likely to begin was 16.
The study was published in JAMA Pediatrics. One coauthor, Kimberly J. Mitchell, is a research associate professor of psychology at the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Research Center. D. Mitchell holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rhode Island College and earned a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Rhode Island. She joined the faculty at the University of New Hampshire in 2001.
The study’s other author is Michele Ybarra, president and research director of the Center for Innovative Public Health Research in San Clemente, California. Dr. Ybarra holds a doctorate in child mental health services research and evaluation from the department of mental health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.