How stress and drinking relate to sexual assault risk among college students
Official title: The Impact of Stress on Alcohol-Related Sexual Assault among College Students: A Mixed-Methodological Study
Funded at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee · NIH-11369221 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how heavy drinking and stress are linked to experiences of sexual assault among college students.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Wisconsin Milwaukee NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Milwaukee, United States) |
| Project start | August 17, 2023 |
| Project end | September 17, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $540,109 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AA031213-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11369221 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are college students who report heavy drinking and are willing to complete daily surveys and follow-up questionnaires.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not drink heavily, non-college adults, or those needing immediate clinical care for trauma are unlikely to benefit directly from participation.
What this research studies
You would be part of a group of 352 heavy-drinking college students who complete surveys and daily reports about alcohol use, stress, and any experiences of sexual coercion or assault. The team will track whether drinking tends to come before incidents of perpetration or victimization, or whether experiencing assault predicts later drinking. They will test whether short-term factors (like acute stress or social support) and longer-term traits (like emotion regulation) change those links. Researchers will also compare results across groups by sex, year in school, and age and may include interviews to add personal context.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help pinpoint high-risk times and personal factors to target with prevention programs and campus supports.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have linked alcohol to sexual assault risk, but few have used daily mixed methods to test how stress and protective factors change those links, so this work builds on prior findings with more detailed, time-sensitive data.
Where this research is happening
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University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
Milwaukee, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Shorey, Ryan Christopher — University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
- Study coordinator: Shorey, Ryan Christopher
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.