Single and Repeat Drugging Victims: Do Changes in Lifestyle Matter over Time?

• In Event: Taking a Closer Look: Varying Perspectives on Drugging Victimization and Perpetration

Abstract

Drugging, also known as drink spiking, is not a new phenomenon, but current research on this topic is limited. Very few quantitative studies have examined drugging. These studies primarily focus on drugging frequency during a specific time period or examine the circumstances or consequences of drugging. Due to the cross-sectional nature of these published empirical studies, they are unable to investigate whether drugging is a one-time experience or a repeat experience over time and cannot examine changes in lifestyle characteristics after the initial drugging experience. The current study investigates occurrences of single and repeat drugging victimization among a panel of 5,150 undergraduates at three universities spanning their freshman to sophomore years, a time period of heightened vulnerability. This paper has two primary aims. First, we will determine the frequency of single and repeat drugging victims, describe the demographic characteristics of single and repeat drugging victims, and test for any differences between the two groups. Second, drawing from Hindelang, Gottfredson, and Garafalo’s (1978) “once bitten, twice shy” hypothesis— which posits that after experiencing victimization, individuals will make changes to their lifestyles to prevent subsequent victimization—we test whether drugging victims changed their lifestyles after the initial victimization.

Authors

• Rachael Ratay, University of Cincinnati

• Bonnie Fisher, University of Cincinnati

• Nicole Lasky, Northeastern State University

• Suzanne Swan, University of South Carolina

• Leah Butler, University of Cincinnati