Bystander Sexual Violence Prevention Program

Abstract

This research reports the findings of an evaluation of a peer-facilitated, bystander sexual violence prevention program to determine its effectiveness at changing attitudes and behaviors related to sexual violence with university males who are at low- and high-risk of using sexually coercive behavior. Bystander interventions focus on men and women as bystanders to change social norms in a peer culture that supports abusive behaviors. Few studies have examined the effectiveness of these interventions with high-risk populations, which is the focus of this study. A bystander sexual violence prevention program was presented to 142 fraternity members. A quasi-experimental design utilizing pre-, post-, and follow-up surveys was used to compare the effectiveness of this prevention program with university males who are at low- and high-risk of using sexually coercive behavior in intervention and comparison groups. Participants' risk status was measured prior to the intervention using the Modified-Sexual Experiences Survey. The measures evaluated changes in attitudes (rape myth acceptance and bystander attitudes) and behaviors (sexually coercive behaviors, sexually coercive behavioral intentions, and bystander behaviors). Data analyses included Repeated-Measures Analysis of Covariances. The findings suggest that a bystander sexual violence prevention program has a positive impact on attitudes and behaviors related to sexual violence among fraternity members, however, the program had less impact on high-risk males. The results of this study will expand our ability to design programs that can have an impact on reducing sexual violence on campus by ensuring the programs are having the desired impact on the target audience.

Using Social Norms to Change Behavior and Increase Sustainability in the Real World: a Systematic Review of the Literature

“…In the broader psychological literature, there is evidence supporting the idea that interventions based only on giving normative information can be ineffective to change behavior [104][105][106][107], and there is even evidence that message content or quantity of information can be unrelated to the effectiveness of social norm interventions [24]. On the other hand, combining normative information with other change tools (such as awareness of the problem, tools for action and prevention and a written promise-see Elias-Lambert and Black [108]), as well as making people conscious about the frequency in which they engage in a behavior and providing feedback about it [109,110] have both proven to be effective. Indeed, the vast majority of interventions in our sample mixed normative information with other mechanisms such as discussions, factual or context information, or calls for action and proposed goals.…”

Students as Prosocial Bystanders to Sexual Assault: Demographic Correlates of Intervention Norms, Intentions, and Missed Opportunities

“…Brown & Messman-Moore, 2010; McMahon, 2010). Fraternity members’ and male student-athletes’ acceptance of rape myths, in several studies, has been shown to correlate with decreased bystander intentions, although intervention behavior was not examined (Bannon, Brosi, & Foubert, 2013; Elias-Lambert & Black, 2016; Foubert, 2013; Foubert, Brosi, & Bannon, 2011; Foubert & Newberry, 2006; McMahon, 2010; McMahon et al, 2011; Moynihan, Banyard, Arnold, Eckstein, & Stapleton, 2010).…”

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

“…Similarly, a longitudinal study of college students demonstrated indirect effects of a bystander training program on bystander behavior through bystander intentions and efficacy at various time points (McMahon et al, 2015). More often, however, bystander intentions are used as a proxy for bystander behavior (e.g., Bannon et al, 2013; Bennet et al, 2015; Elias-Lambert & Black, 2016), thereby limiting our understanding of the intention-behavior link.…”