Outcomes and Motives of Drugging (“Drink Spiking”) on Three College Campuses

• In Event: Investigating the Contemporary Narrative of Drugging: What Do the Data Tell Us?

Abstract

While drugging (administering a drug to someone without their knowledge or consent) is discussed in the media, research on drugging is nascent. Prior research has primarily focused on drugging as a means of sexual assault and has not addressed drugging more generally. Survey data from 6,064 students at three universities was used to explore drugging from the perspective of those who had drugged someone (or knew someone who had) and those who had been drugged. Prevalence rates indicated that 83 students (1.4%) reported 172 incidents of drugging someone, and 462 students (7.8%) reported 539 incidents in which they were drugged. Participants’ perceptions of why people drug others were gendered. Women were much more likely to mention sex or sexual assault as a motive, while men were more likely to mention fun as a motive. Other motives included getting others more drunk or high and getting someone to relax. Outcomes for those drugged were also gendered, with women experiencing more unwanted sexual experiences, blacking out, and getting sick. In contrast, 37% of male victims and 8% of female victims enjoyed being drugged. To design effective interventions to prevent the negative consequences of drugging, the full context of drugging must be examined.

Authors

• Suzanne C. Swan, University of South Carolina

• Nicole V. Lasky, University of Cincinnati

• Bonnie S. Fisher, University of Cincinnati

• V. Diane Woodbrown, University of South Carolina

• Janaé E. Bonsu, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Andrew T. Schramm, University of South Carolina

• Peter R. Warren, WJB Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center

• Ann L. Coker, University of Kentucky

• Corrine Williams, University of Kentucky