Medical Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Self-Efficacy Regarding Sexual Violence: Implications for Curriculum Development
Jordyn Ingber, Lauren Walkon, Jordan Kamen, Rachel Lloyd, Claire Baguley, Madison Saunders, Melanie Ermler, Changiz MohiyeddiniBackground
Sexual violence and intimate partner violence are major public health concerns, yet medical education often provides limited structured preparation for screening, disclosure response, safety assessment, documentation, and referral. Although clinical guidelines exist, medical students may recognize the importance of survivor care while lacking confidence in applied clinical response.
Objective
Guided by Bandura’s self-efficacy theory and Miller’s framework for clinical competence, this study examined medical students’ knowledge, attitudes, clinical self-efficacy, and educational exposure related to sexual violence and intimate partner violence.
Methods
A cross-sectional, anonymous survey was administered to medical students at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine during the 2023–2024 academic year. The final survey sample included 72 students; analytic sample sizes varied slightly by model because analyses used all valid cases available for the variables included in each model. Measures assessed rape myth rejection, screening barriers, clinical self-efficacy, applied clinical knowledge, general factual knowledge, educational exposure, perceived curricular importance, and self-rated clinical confidence. Hierarchical multiple regression tested whether clinical self-efficacy was associated with rape myth rejection after controlling for gender and year of training. General linear models compared preclinical and clinical students on clinical self-efficacy and knowledge outcomes, with gender entered as a categorical control factor.
Results
Students generally rejected rape myths (
Conclusions
Findings suggest that medical students value sexual violence education and generally endorse survivor-supportive attitudes, yet many report limited applied readiness. The absence of significant differences between preclinical and clinical students suggests that routine progression through medical training may be insufficient to build competence in sexual violence care without structured, skills-based education. Results support the development of longitudinal, trauma-informed curricula that move beyond factual knowledge toward applied and demonstrated clinical competence.