The role of campus environment on bystander intentions and behaviors (original) (raw)
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Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2017
Sexual assault on university campuses has garnered increased attention in recent years. A systematic review was conducted to identify the factors associated with bystander intervention regarding sexual assault on university campuses. Currently, no published systematic reviews exist within this area. Twenty-eight studies were reviewed according to four major bystander factors: rape myth and date rape attitudes; bystander efficacy; bystander intent; and bystander behavior. There was a heavy emphasis on bystander intent and behavior throughout. Three important limitations were identified: (1) all empirical research has been conducted in the USA, yet bystander intervention programs exist outside of the USA, in countries such as the UK, (2) a majority of the studies employed quantitative methodologies and so failed to capture important details such as bystanders' perceptions of sexual assault or what other factors influence the likelihood of intervening, and (3) there were limited attempts to control for factors such as social desirability. This area of research is still in its infancy. Future research should examine in greater detail the factors inhibiting and facilitating bystander intervention. Finally, research outside of the USA is important in developing the literature in this area to effectively inform bystander intervention programs.
Bystander perceptions: Implications for university sexual assault prevention programs
The college party environment comprises a risk factor for unwanted sexual activity but may also provide a safety net, given the presence of bystanders who can potentially intervene in risky situations. Sexual assault prevention programs are increasingly incorporating bystander education into their designs. This article presents findings intended to inform these programs. Qualitative data from single-sex focus groups about typical college party behavior was analyzed for common themes. Analysis of these themes suggests that although some sexual behavior is visible at college parties, most sexual behavior is assumed to occur behind closed doors. In addition, intervention and prevention methods may vary by gender. Multiple factors appear to promote or dissuade bystander intervention in college party situations.
Conceptualizing the Engaging Bystander Approach to Sexual Violence Prevention on College Campuses
Journal of College Student Development, 2011
Bystander intervention offers promise as a sexual violence prevention tool for student affairs administrators on college campuses, but the conceptualization and definition of the approach is in its infancy and needs further development. In an effort to emphasize the potential role of bystanders in the primary prevention of sexual violence, we put forth the "engaging bystander approach" (EBA). We discuss how EBA can be used to address primary prevention and present updated versions of Banyard, Plante, and Moynihan's (2005) Bystander Attitude Scale and Bystander Behavior Scale. We then present the results from a quantitative study with 951 undergraduate students that used the updated scales to assess the willingness of incoming college students to engage in primary prevention bystander behaviors. We conclude with implications for future studies and for sexual violence prevention programs on college campuses.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2017
Sexual assault is a major public health issue. Bystander engagement programs are becoming widely used to combat sexual assault on college campuses. The purpose of this study was to examine students’ intervention norms, intentions, opportunities, and behaviors as bystanders to sexual assault. Undergraduate students ( N = 779) completed the Sexual Assault Bystander Behavior Questionnaire in the fall of 2014. The t tests revealed differences in students’ intervention norms, intentions, opportunities, and missed opportunities based on sex, race/ethnicity, athletic participation, and fraternity/sorority membership. The findings support the use of additional measures to assess bystander behavior and to identify student subpopulations that may benefit from programs aimed at increasing prosocial intervention.
Journal of College and Character, 2013
Bystander education is an increasingly utilized strategy for addressing sexual assault prevention and intervention on U.S. college campuses. Given the paramount importance of peers among college students, what types of pro-social bystander interventions do students themselves deem feasible in the campus context? Drawing on self-reports from first-year undergraduate students who participated in a bystander education program, this analysis summarizes a range of student responses. Because peers form the support base for these interventions, their influence must be accounted for in the development of bystander education interventions on campuses.
Violence and Gender, 2015
The recent shift in sexual assault prevention programming aims to engage college students as prosocial bystanders. Bystanders to sexual assault have the opportunity to make a positive impact on the incidence of sexual assault on the college campus, in addition to reducing the harm of one that has already occurred. Given the spectrum of sexual assault situations students have the opportunity to witness, it is important to know how students' intent to intervene varies between the different prosocial bystander behaviors. A sample of 815 undergraduate students completed the Sexual Assault Bystander Behavior Questionnaire in the fall of 2014. Students reported significantly greater intent to intervene with the potential or actual victim compared to the potential or actual perpetrator. Females reported significantly greater intent to intervene with both the potential or actual victims and perpetrators compared to males. Both males and females reported the greatest intent to perform postassault intervention behaviors, compared to pre-or midassault. The results of this study suggest that students may conceptualize prosocial helping behaviors differently depending on the context of the situation. Although tertiary prevention plays an important part in potentially mitigating the harm of an assault that has occurred, only primary prevention can reduce the incidence of an assault. Thus, the differing contexts of the assault situations-and gender differences of intent to behave prosocially-should be considered when developing programs aimed at increasing prosocial intentions among potential bystanders to sexual assault.
Bystander education training for campus sexual assault prevention: an initial meta-analysis
Violence and victims, 2013
The present meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of bystander education programs for preventing sexual assault in college communities. Undergraduates trained in bystander education for sexual assault were expected to report more favorable attitudes, behavioral proclivities, and actual behaviors relative to untrained controls. Data from 12 studies of college students (N = 2,926) were used to calculate 32 effect sizes. Results suggested moderate effects of bystander education on both bystander efficacy and intentions to help others at risk. Smaller but significant effects were observed regarding self-reported bystander helping behaviors, (lower) rape-supportive attitudes, and (lower) rape proclivity, but not perpetration. These results provide initial support for the effectiveness of in-person bystander education training. Nonetheless, future longitudinal research evaluating behavioral outcomes and sexual assault incidence is needed.
Violence against women, 2015
Bystander approaches to reducing sexual violence train community members in prosocial roles to interrupt situations with risk of sexual violence and be supportive community allies after an assault. This study employs a true experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness of Bringing in the Bystander™ through 1-year post-implementation with first-year students from two universities (one rural, primarily residential; one urban, heavily commuter). We found significant change in bystander attitudes for male and female student program participants compared with the control group on both campuses, although the pattern of change depended on the combination of gender and campus.