Sexual and Dating Violence Prevention Programs for Male Youth: A Systematic Review of Program Characteristics, Intended Psychosexual Outcomes, and Effectiveness

Abstract

Sexual and dating violence (SDV) by male youth (> 25 years) –including sexual harassment, emotional partner violence and rape– is a worldwide problem. The goal of this preregistered (PROSPERO, ID: CRD42022281220) systematic review was to map existing SDV prevention programs aimed at male youth, including their characteristics (e.g., content, intensity), intended psychosexual outcomes, and empirically demonstrated effectiveness, guided by the principles of the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991). We conducted searches in six online databases for published, peer-reviewed quantitative effectiveness studies on multi-session, group focused, and interaction based SDV prevention programs for male youth ending March 2022. After screening of 21,156 hits using PRISMA guidelines, 15 studies on 13 different programs, from four continents were included. Narrative analysis showed, first, broad ranges in program intensity (2-48 hours total), and few program curricula included explicit discussion of relevant aspects of the TPB. Second, programs’ main intended psychosexual outcomes were to change SDV behaviors, or related attitudes, or norms. Third, significant effects were found mostly on longer term behaviors, and short-term attitudes. Other theoretical proxies of SDV behaviors, such as social norms and perceived behavioral control, were sparsely investigated, thus program effectiveness on these outcomes remains largely unknown. Assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool, moderate to serious risk of bias arose in all studies. We present concrete suggestions for program content, such as explicit attention to victimization and masculinity and discuss best practices for evaluation research, including assessments of program integrity, and examining relevant theoretical proxies of SDV.

Make a Move: A Multi-method Quasi-Experimental Study of a Program Targeting Psychosexual Health and Sexual and Dating Violence for Dutch Male Adolescents

“…The adolescent sample consisted of 66 male adolescents aged 12 to 21 years (M = 16.6, SD = 2.4); 43.9% in the intervention group). This is smaller than the pre-registered intended sample size of 138 adolescents based on a priori power analyses (Verbeek et al, 2021), due to difficulties in recruitment described in the pre-registration of the current study (Verbeek et al, 2023b).…”

“…We pre-registered the research aims, questions and hypotheses for Move Up! on the Open Science Forum (Verbeek et al, 2021), as well as the specific aims and analysis strategy for the current study (Verbeek et al, 2023b). The current study was a multi-site-controlled trial consisting of an intervention group and a control group.…”

“…The current design deviates from the design originally pre-registered (Verbeek et al, 2021), in which we planned to randomize organizations after enrollment (i.e., block RCT).…”

“…Potential male adolescent participants were selected by the organizations. We pre-registered recruitment, eligibility and selection criteria for adolescent participants at the start of the project (Verbeek et al, 2021). The researchers were not involved in the selection process or decision for adolescents to participate in the program, or study.…”

“…We devised a three-step analytic strategy (pre-registered on OSF, see Verbeek et al, 2023b) 1) quantitative group comparisons on program outcomes measured with the questionnaires; 2) perspectives of trainers and adolescent participants on program effectiveness reported in the interviews; and 3) a person-centered description of program effectiveness integrating questionnaire, interview, and observation data of three adolescents.…”