(PS10-22) Institutional Betrayal and Microaggressions: Investigating Barriers to Formal Help-Seeking Among Marginalized Campus Sexual Assault Survivors

Abstract Text: Racial/ethnic minorities and individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+ are at greater risk of experiencing sexual violence and yet less likely to seek help. Experiences of identity-based discrimination, or microaggressions, have been shown to meaningfully reduce help-seeking in both racial/ethnic and LGBTQIA+ survivors. Institutional Betrayal (IB), a phenomenon in which survivors feel that an institution either caused or failed to protect them from harm, can also reduce help-seeking in survivors. Notably, marginalized populations are at greater risk of experiencing both microaggressions and IB, suggesting these factors may be important for understanding help-seeking in this population. This mixed-methods study examined the impact of microaggressions and IB on institution related (i.e. formal) help-seeking among marginalized campus sexual violence survivors. Student survivors with one or more marginalized identities (n=41) and their majority-identity counterparts (n=35) completed a survey on sexual violence victimization, microaggression experience, IB and formal help-seeking intentions. Although effect sizes are small to moderate in magnitude (d=0.20, d=-0.34), preliminary analyses reveal that individuals with marginalized identities reported greater rates of identity-based discrimination and IB relative to their majority-identity counterparts. Students who did not intend to utilize formal help-seeking also had higher rates of microaggressions (d=0.26). It is hypothesized that upon final analysis students with greater microaggressions and IB may demonstrate meaningful reductions in likelihood to use University supports. Qualitative findings suggest that both experiences of and anticipated identity-based discrimination from one’s institution reduce student intentions to seek support for sexual violence.