Non-Consensual Sex and Risk of Depression in Female Undergraduates at Universities in Maritime Canada

Abstract

Sexual victimization and depression are common among female undergraduate students. There is little research on the prevalence of and relationship between victimization and depression in the context of Canadian undergraduate populations. The current study uses cross sectional data to determine the prevalence of being a victim of non-consensual sex and being at risk of depression among female undergraduate students attending Maritime Canadian universities, the factors associated with risk of depression and being victim of non-consensual sex, and the independent association between non-consensual sex and risk of depression. Results indicated that 36.7% of female students are at risk of depression and 6.8% have been sexually victimized while attending university. Factors associated with risk of depression and non-consensual sex included substance abuse and risky sexual behaviours. After adjusting for covariates, females that were victimized were 2.11 times more likely to be at risk of depression than females who were not victimized (p<.0001).