Patterns of Sexual Assault Experiences and Police Reporting: A Latent Class Analysis of Medical Forensic Records

Research has identified numerous assault characteristics associated with victims’ decisions to report sexual assault to law enforcement, but less is known about how these characteristics co-occur within victims’ assault experiences and collectively relate to reporting decisions. The present study applied latent class analysis to archival medical forensic records to identify profiles of sexual assault experiences and examine whether those profiles differed in police reporting. Using data drawn from 655 sexual assault medical forensic records, three distinct profiles emerged: (a) low intoxication, force-oriented assaults, (b) high intoxication assaults with partial memory loss, and (c) high intoxication assaults with complete memory loss and informational uncertainty. Reporting differed significantly across profiles, with victims in the third class exhibiting the lowest probability of reporting. Findings demonstrate the value of person-centered approaches for understanding how broader patterns of assault experiences shape victims’ decisions to report sexual assault to law enforcement.