Development and Pilot Test of the Competency Assessment for Sexual Assault Prevention Practitioners

Abstract

Sexual assault is a preventable problem that is widespread and particularly prevalent for certain populations (e.g., female college students, Native American women). Despite the gravity of this public health priority, most individuals tasked with the primary prevention of sexual assault are not adequately trained for the job (e.g., professionals often trained solely in sexual assault response). To achieve optimal outcomes, professionals responsible for implementing sexual assault prevention must possess certain core competencies, or knowledge and skills essential for job performance, which include those needed for any primary prevention effort in addition to those specific to sexual assault prevention. The purpose of this study was to develop and assess the construct validity of a competency assessment tool for sexual assault prevention practitioners. An existing assessment tool, which was designed for injury and violence prevention practitioners, was tailored to reflect competencies needed by sexual assault prevention practitioners as informed by the literature. The newly tailored measure was pilot tested with 33 individuals with varying levels of expertise with sexual assault prevention. These individuals were categorized into three groups based on self-rated sexual assault prevention expertise (low, medium, or high) to assess group differences. As expected, the high expertise group rated higher knowledge in all the competencies than the medium and low expertise groups (except for the competency pertaining to developing and maintaining competency). Data collection and analyses were conducted in 2020. Implications for how the assessment tool can be used to identify gaps among individual practitioners and teams of practitioners are discussed.

Novel Methods to Assess the Military's Evolving Prevention Capabilities: Development and Pilot Test of the On-Site Installation Evaluation Process

“…Competent practitioners are critical for effective prevention. Although the importance of having a well-trained staff has been emphasized in the prevention science literature, there is no process to determine whether professionals are adequately trained and effective in delivering prevention efforts (O'Neill et al, 2022). Prevention practitioners who are responsible for implementing prevention must possess certain core competencies, or knowledge and skills essential for job performance, to achieve optimal outcomes.…”

“…These competencies include those that are needed for any primary prevention effort. An existing assessment tool, which was designed for injury and violence prevention practitioners, was tailored to reflect general, prevention-specific competencies as informed by the literature (O'Neill et al, 2022). The criterion validity of this newly tailored measure-the Competency Assessment for Sexual Assault Prevention Practitioners (CASAPP)-was tested with 33 individuals who had varying levels of expertise with sexual assault prevention.…”

“…For this project, two versions of CASAPP (O'Neill et al, 2022) were developed. The first targeted any service member or civilian who has a role in prevention (called prevention personnel and prevention support; see Table 3.3).…”

“…The first targeted any service member or civilian who has a role in prevention (called prevention personnel and prevention support; see Table 3.3). This survey was identical to the one developed by O'Neill et al (2022). The second survey was intended for service members who were identified as leaders.…”

Countering Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Military: Lessons from RAND Research

“…2 Implementing prevention programming well requires specialized skills (Villaveces et al, 2010), and these skills might be lacking among those who are assigned to carry out these programs (DoD, 2019). A Competency Assessment for Sexual Assault Prevention Practitioners provides details on required specialized skills (O'Neil et al, 2021). These competencies include skills suitable for any primary prevention effort and skills specific to sexual assault prevention.…”