Acute Alcohol Intoxication Inhibits Bystander Intervention Behavior for Sexual Aggression Among Men with High Intent to Help

Abstract

Background: Bystander training programs aim to encourage third-party witnesses to intervene in high-risk sexual situations; however, these programs rarely focus on training bystanders to effectively intervene when intoxicated. This is not surprising due to the limited evidence on the proximal effects of alcohol on bystander intervention for sexual aggression. To this end, the aim of the present study was to test the effects of men's self-reported intent to help strangers and acute alcohol intoxication on the likelihood and speed of sexual aggression intervention.Methods: Participants were 74 men who completed a measure of intent to help (Session 1) and were randomly assigned to consume alcohol or a no-alcohol control beverage (Session 2). Next, they engaged in a novel laboratory paradigm in which they and 4 other confederates (2 men, 2 women) watched a female confederate, who reported a strong dislike of sexual content in the media, view a sexually explicit film which they could stop at any time. Bystander intervention was operationalized as whether and how quickly participants stopped the film.Results: Findings indicated that (i) intent to help strangers predicted faster sexual aggression intervention and (ii) intent to help strangers predicted a higher likelihood and faster rate of sexual aggression intervention among sober, but not intoxicated, men. This latter finding suggests that among men who endorsed a high willingness to intervene in sexual aggression, alcohol intoxication decreased intervention behavior.Conclusions: Results demonstrate that alcohol functions as a barrier to intervention for men who would otherwise intervene. Findings are interpreted using an integrative framework for intoxicated sexual aggression intervention and highlight the need for bystander training programs to incorporate alcohol interventions to reduce heavy drinking and psychoeducation to train bystanders how to intervene when intoxicated.

Male Role Norms, Heavy Drinking, and Bystander Behavior for Sexual Aggression

“…It is plausible that this difference is because the present study measured prior bystander behavior whereas related studies measured bystander attitudes or intentions. Notably, recent work suggests that alcohol alone may not deter bystander intervention; rather, alcohol may be particularly likely to inhibit intervention behavior as a function of relevant individual characteristics (Leone & Parrott, 2019b).…”

“…The present study was drawn from a larger two-session laboratory-based study on acute alcohol intoxication and bystander intervention (Leone & Parrott, 2019b). Thus, all participants who presented to the laboratory reported that they had consumed alcohol during the past year (see below).…”

“…Studies examining the distal effects of alcohol suggest that a pattern of heavy drinking, compared with non-heavy drinking, is associated with less willingness (Orchowski et al, 2016) and a lower likelihood (Fleming & Wiersma-Mosley, 2015) to intervene in sexual aggression. A recent laboratory-based study examining the acute effects of alcohol demonstrated that alcohol intoxication decreases the likelihood and speed of intervention among men who reported intentions to help (Leone & Parrott, 2019b). In other words, men who are willing to help prevent sexual aggression are the most susceptible to the inhibiting effects of alcohol (Leone & Parrott, 2019b).…”

“…A recent laboratory-based study examining the acute effects of alcohol demonstrated that alcohol intoxication decreases the likelihood and speed of intervention among men who reported intentions to help (Leone & Parrott, 2019b). In other words, men who are willing to help prevent sexual aggression are the most susceptible to the inhibiting effects of alcohol (Leone & Parrott, 2019b). Recent qualitative data indicate that alcohol may be a barrier to intervention by focusing one's attention to salient cues in the environment (e.g., socializing or seeking sexual partners) at the exclusion of less salient sexual risk cues (Oesterle et al, 2018).…”

“…Indeed, the present study's cross-sectional design and reliance on self-report data limit our ability to draw conclusions that directly link acute alcohol use to intervention behavior. To address this limitation and confirm the observed pattern of effects, future research would benefit from using experimental paradigms (e.g., Leone & Parrott, 2019b). Third, the measure of bystander behavior did not take into account opportunity to intervene.…”