Effect of Alcohol Intoxication on Bystander Intervention in a Vignette Depiction of Sexual Assault

Abstract

Alcohol-related sexual violence remains a public health problem. Despite the popularity of sexual assault bystander intervention programs, these may be limited in addressing bystander intoxication because the effects of intoxication on intervening in a sexual assault are unknown. Therefore, we tested the effects of alcohol intoxication on the five steps of bystander intervention in a sexual assault vignette. Method: Young adults (N = 128; 50% women) were randomly assigned to consume alcohol (target blood alcohol concentration = 0.08%; n = 64) or a nonalcoholic control beverage (n = 64) in a barlaboratory. Next, participants were presented with a vignette describing events occurring in a convivial drinking context that ends with nonconsensual sexual behavior. Latané and Darley's bystander intervention model steps were assessed in a semistructured interview. Results: Participants in the control condition recalled the story more accurately (Step 1: notice the event) and reported greater risk/need for intervention (Step 2), but they did not differ on the latter three steps of bystander intervention compared with alcohol-condition participants. Intoxication effects were similar for men and women. Furthermore, risk/need for intervention (Step 2) partially mediated the effect of alcohol condition on personal responsibility (Step 3) and relative benefits versus costs from intervening (Step 4). Conclusions: Prevention programs should consider the effects of alcohol on detecting a sexual assault and the need to intervene. If intoxicated bystanders do not detect a sexual assault, then bystanders will not reach the crucial steps (i.e., taking responsibility for intervening; willingness and ability to intervene) required to intervene successfully.

Two Studies Investigating Associations Between Sexual Assault Victimization History and Bystander Appraisals of Risk

“…Furthermore, the vignette described the victim and perpetrator as friends of the bystander (participant), highlighting perhaps the sense of risk participants felt. Nevertheless, as Ham and colleagues (2019) reported, alcohol did affect risk detection and findings suggest that bystanders can be impaired in their ability to serve as capable guardians when they are intoxicated. Bystander intervention programs may want to consider encouraging a “sober bystander” approach to group outings, much as drinking and driving campaigns have emphasized the importance of a “designated driver” as one component to prevent motor vehicle accidents (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 1999).…”

“…The one study that directly investigated this relationship suggests that alcohol impedes bystander intervention through reduced risk detection. Ham and colleagues (2019) found that acute alcohol intoxication reduces Steps a (noticing the event) and b (appraising it as dangerous) of the bystander model, and that Step b mediates the relation between alcohol intoxication and later stages of bystander assistance. We thus hypothesized:…”

“…Participants were part of a larger study examining the role of acute alcohol intoxication on bystander behavior (Ham et al, 2019). People between the ages of 21 and 29 years were recruited to participate in a study on the effects of alcohol on perceptions of social situations.…”

“…The parent study examined the main effect of alcohol intoxication (Ham et al, 2019), so results are not repeated here. Contrary to our first hypothesis, there was no significant main effect of sexual assault victimization status on bystander appraisals of risk, F (1, 60) = 0.71, p = .404, η normalp 2 = .012.…”

Socio-Ecologically Constituted Types of Sexual Assault

“…Findings suggest that some assault types (i.e., IKAD, UTSP) may be more amenable to traditional bystander interventions, as they are characterized by others being present immediately prior to the assault who could potentially intervene. Despite this necessary ingredient, IKAD and UTSP assaults in this sample were both more common when the participant had been using substances; thus, there may be concerns about whether intoxicated bystanders in these environments are able to detect sexual assault or its warning signs and subsequently intervene (Ham et al, 2019). Among those who described VCPP as the most significant incident, very few participants reported the presence of others around beforehand to intervene.…”