Sexual Assault and Depressive Symptoms in College Students: Do Psychological Needs Account for the Relationship? Edward C. Chang, Jiachen Lin, Erin E. Fowler, Elizabeth A. Yu, Tina Yu, Zunaira Jilani, Emma R. Kahle, and Jameson K. Hirsch In this study, authors examined basic psychological needs (namely, competence, autonomy, and relatedness) as potential mediators of the association between sexual assault and depres- sive symptoms in a sample of 342 college students. Results from conducting a multiple mediation test provided support for partial mediation involving the indirect efects of com- petence and autonomy. In contrast, no support for mediation was found involving relatedness. It is notable that sexual assault remained a signiicant predictor of depressive symptoms in students. Therefore, indings indicate how sexual assault may both directly and indirectly (through psychological needs) lead to greater depressive symptoms in students. Authors concluded the article with a discussion of the implications of their indings for expanding the study of basic psychological needs in college students and the need for greater eforts to prevent and treat sexual assault on campus. KEY WORDS: college students; depression; psychological needs; sexual assault S exual assault is deined as any sexual act that is perpetrated against one’s will (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015) and involves a range of ofenses, including rape, abu- sive sexual contact, and noncontact sexual abuse (see, for instance, Felson & Cundif, 2014). Sexual assault has increasingly become a major problem in society (Devries et al., 2011). For example, indings show that one in ive women and one in 71 men from adult community populations have experienced rape at some point in their lives (CDC, 2015). Sexual assault is no less an alarming problem among young men and women, perhaps most notably within col- lege student populations (see, for example, Martin, Fisher, Warner, Krebs, & Lindquist, 2011). For ex- ample, in a large sample of college students, Palmer, McMahon, Rounsaville, and Ball (2010) found that more than 30 percent of male and female students reported experiencing some form of sexual assault in the past year. In turn, indings from a growing number of studies involving college students have pointed to a positive association between experience of sexual assault and a range of negative psychological outcomes, including anxiety, distress, and even sui- cide ideation (see, for example, Bryan, McNaugton- Cassill, Osman, & Hernandez, 2013). It is important to note that one of the most ro- bust associations to emerge from studies examining sexual assault in college students has been a positive relationship between sexual assault and depression (see, for example, Lindquist et al., 2013). For ex- ample, in a study involving female college students, Littleton, Grills-Taquechel, Buck, Rosman, and Dodd (2013) found that female victims of sexual assault, compared with nonvictims, reported sig- niicantly greater depressive symptoms (M = 18.19, 16.64, respectively; p < .05) on the Center for Epi- demiological Studies Depression Scale (Radlof, 1977). Similarly, in a study involving male college students, Aosved, Long, and Voller (2011) found that male victims of sexual assault, compared with nonvictims, also reported signiicantly greater de- pressive symptoms (M = 0.84, 0.66, respectively; p < .05) based on using the Symptom Checklist- 90-Revised (Derogatis, 1977) Depression Scale. These indings indicate that sexual assault represents an important risk factor for depressive symptoms in both male and female college students. Yet, despite the inding of a reliable association between sexual assault and depressive symptoms in college students, little is known about processes and mechanisms that might help account for this link. 1 doi: 10.1093/sw/swv017 © 2015 National Association of Social Workers Social Work Advance Access published May 1, 2015