Some of the most influential research involving campus sexual assault was that done by Mary Koss and various colleagues. The results of her first study of sexual aggression among students at Kent State University (Koss & Oros, 1982) were published in a 1982 Ms.article that popularized the term "date rape." The article was "the first national magazine article to address the issue." (Koss, 1988, p. 190). In 1983, Koss and the Ms. editors began planning research that would pinpoint the incidence of sexual assault on college campuses across the country, gather details about incidents, describe both victims and perpetrators, and examine any psychological difficulties resulting from sexual violence. The study encompassed 32 campuses of varying types and involved 6,159 participants. The scope of the study, for methodological reasons, was limited to women as victims and men as perpetrators. Surveys were administered in randomly chosen classes in 1984 and 1985.
When the results were published in 1987 (Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski), some of the findings were surprising. Of the female participants, 54% reported having been sexually victimized in some way, and 27.5% reported experiencing an act that met the legal definition of rape or attempted rape (based on various state laws, rather than the FBI definition). Of the male participants, 25% reported exhibiting sexual aggression, and 7.7% reported behaviors that met the legal definition of rape or attempted rape. The rates of victimization did not differ significantly based on the size of the institution or the ethnic composition of the student body, although the rate was twice as high at private colleges and major universities as at religiously affiliated institutions. The average age of both victims and perpetrators at the time of incident(s) was between 18 and 19, indicating that traditional age first year students are the most vulnerable group.