The Prospective Influence of Perceived Social Norms on Bystander Actions Against Sexual Violence and Relationship Abuse: A Multiple Mediation Model
Autor/in:
Mulla, Mazheruddin M.; Haikalis, Michelle; Orchowski, Lindsay M.; Berkowitz, Alan D.
Quelle: Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37 (2022)
Inhalt: The present study assessed support for an innovative model of the direct and indirect paths through which perceived peer norms regarding the prevalence and acceptability of sexual violence (SV) and relationship abuse (RA) may influence the decisional process leading to bystander intervention. Analyses included baseline and 6-month follow-up data collected from a large sample of high school students (N = 2,303) across 27 schools in the Northeastern United States. Path analyses were conducted to test a multiple mediation model of the direct and indirect associations among the sequential predictors of perceived descriptive and injunctive norms, personal attitudes, abuse perceptions, risk recognition, and dependent measures of bystander behaviors at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Higher perceptions of the prevalence (descriptive norms) and acceptability (injunctive norms) of SV and RA among peers were associated with more accepting personal attitudes toward SV and RA, which were associated with lower abuse perceptions and risk recognition. Furthermore, lower abuse perceptions and risk recognition were associated with decreases in bystander behaviors at both time points. Mediational analyses revealed several significant indirect paths through which higher perceptions of descriptive and injunctive norms contributed to decreases in bystander behavior. Findings provide novel evidence of the prospective influence of perceived norms on bystander intervention behavior in situations of SV and RA.
Who do They Tell? College Students' Formal and Informal Disclosure of Sexual Violence, Sexual Harassment, Stalking, and Dating Violence by Gender, Sexual Identity, and Race
Autor/in:
Mennicke, Annelise; Coates, Constance Austin; Jules, Bridget; Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Jennifer
Quelle: Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37 (2022) 21-22, 28 S
Inhalt: Disclosure of interpersonal violence (i.e., sexual violence, sexual harassment, dating violence, and stalking) is often the first step toward receiving social and systemic support. Research demonstrates that sexual assault and dating violence survivors on college campuses are more likely to disclosure to informal sources (i.e., friends and family) than formal sources (e.g., police, Title IX, counseling centers). However, there is limited research examining disclosure rates after other forms of violence (i.e., stalking, sexual harassment), and little is known about the impact of the survivors' identities on disclosure. Utilizing four academic years (2016-2019) of aggregated campus climate data from a large Southeastern university, the current study examined rates of disclosure across experiences of sexual violence, sexual harassment, dating violence, and stalking while identifying whether the prevalence and type of disclosure (formal versus informal-only) differed by gender, sexual orientation, and/or race/ethnicity. Of 8,017 participants, 4.6% reported sexual violence, 18.9% reported sexual harassment, 12.3% reported dating violence, and 11.3% reported stalking in the past academic year. Results of multinomial logistic regression indicated that, across all four types of violence, men (as compared to women) had lower odds of disclosing both informally-only and formally. Bisexual as compared to heterosexual students had higher odds of formal disclosure of sexual harassment and stalking while gay/lesbian students had higher odds of formally disclosing sexual harassment. Individuals of another race/ethnicity (compared to White students) had lower odds of informal-only disclosure of dating violence. Findings underscore the need to implement programs to improve the social reactions of friends and family members receiving disclosures, and to increase culturally-tailored service provision.
Schlagwörter:disclosure; psychological wellbeing; reporting; sexual assault; sexual harassment; stalking
Preventing Sexual Violence Through Bystander Intervention: Attitudes, Behaviors, Missed Opportunities, and Barriers to Intervention Among Australian University Students
Autor/in:
Kania, Rachel; Cale, Jesse
Quelle: Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36 (2021) 5-6, S 2816–2840
Inhalt: The concept of bystander intervention is gaining popularity in universities as a mechanism to prevent sexual violence. Prior research has focused on correlates of bystanders' intentions to intervene and intervention behaviors in situations where there is a risk of sexual violence. The current study builds on this literature by exploring the nature of missed opportunities, including perceived barriers to intervention. In all, 380 Australian undergraduate university students completed an online survey. Measures included a rape myth acceptance scale, bystander intentions to intervene, actual intervention behaviors, missed opportunities for intervention, and perceived barriers for missed opportunities. Promisingly, students reported high levels of intentions to intervene in situations where there was a risk of sexual violence and reported relatively few missed opportunities to do so when these situations did occur. Intervention behaviors varied by important demographic characteristics such as gender, age, attitudes toward sexual violence, and the nature of the situation. Younger female students, with lower levels of rape myth acceptance, who had previously engaged in bystander intervention behaviors were more likely to report intentions to intervene in future risky situations, and female international students reported fewer missed opportunities for intervention. The most common barrier to intervention for identified missed opportunities was a failure to recognize situations as having a potential risk for sexual violence, and students were most likely to intervene in situations when the opportunity to help a friend in distress arose. This study provides some preliminary empirical evidence about bystander intervention against sexual violence among Australian university students, and identifies unique contexts for intervention and what current barriers to intervention may be.
Schlagwörter:Australia; barriers; bystander intervention; Intervention; sexual assault; university
The Intersection of Gender Identity and Violence: : Victimization Experienced by Transgender College Students
Autor/in:
Griner, Stacey B.; Vamos, Cheryl A.; Thompson, Erika L.; Logan, Rachel; Vázquez-Otero, Coralia; Daley, Ellen M.
Quelle: Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35 (2020) 23-24, S 5704–5725
Inhalt: College students disproportionately experience victimization, stalking, and relationship violence when compared with other groups. Few studies explore victimization by the gender identity of college students, including those who identify as transgender. The purpose of this study is to explore the rates of violence experienced by transgender students compared with male and female college students. This study utilized the National College Health Assessment-II (NCHA-II) and included data from students (n = 82,538) across fall 2011, 2012, and 2013. Bivariate statistics and binary logistic regression were conducted to test the relationships between gender identity and victimization. Transgender students (n = 204) were compared with male (n = 27,322) and female (n = 55,012) students. After adjusting for individual factors, transgender students had higher odds of experiencing all nine types of violence when compared with males and higher odds of experiencing eight types of violence than females. Transgender students experienced the highest odds in crimes involving sexual victimization, including attempted sexual penetration (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 9.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [6.17, 14.59], d = 1.00), sexual penetration without consent (aOR: 9.06, 95% CI = [5.64, 14.53], d = 0.94), and being in a sexually abusive relationship (aOR: 6.48, 95% CI = [4.01, 10.49], d = 0.48), than did male students. Findings reveal increased odds of victimization among transgender students when compared with male and female students. Results demonstrate the need for more comprehensive violence prevention efforts in college settings.
Schlagwörter:gender identity; gender-based violence; higher education; sexual violence; Transgeschlechtlichkeit
CEWS Kategorie:Diversity, Hochschulen, Sexuelle Belästigung und Gewalt
Quelle: Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 34(23-24) (2019) , S 4765–4793
Inhalt: The practice of ethics in social science research is a reflexive process of self-review to define a profession’s collective responsibility in the face of changing norms and expectations. In recent years, we have seen transformative changes in how society thinks about supporting sexual assault survivors, and how the scientific community thinks about our obligations to society. Decades of research on trauma and its impact has raised awareness about the needs of victimized individuals, giving rise to the trauma-informed practice movement, which emphasizes that service providers must center survivors’ well-being in all interactions, decisions, and program practices. The field of sexual assault research helped give rise to this movement and provides empirical support for its guiding tenets, and in this article, we explore how to bring these ideas full circle to begin articulating trauma-informed principles for research. A trauma-informed perspective on research challenges scientists to go beyond the requirements of the Belmont Report (1979) and institutional review boards' (IRB) regulations to develop research procedures that fully support survivors’ choice, control, and empowerment. Such reflection on participants’ rights is particularly important given the open science movement sweeping academia, which calls on scientists to share their data publicly to promote transparency, replication, and new discoveries. Disseminating data could pose significant safety, privacy, and confidentiality risks for victims of sexual assault, so we need to evaluate what open science means within a trauma-informed framework. In this article, we examine three key stages of the research process—participant recruitment, data collection, and dissemination—and consider how trauma-informed principles could help, but also could complicate, research practices. We explore these tensions and offer potential solutions so that research on sexual trauma embodies trauma-informed practice.
Schlagwörter:ethical issues in surveys; Ethik; Gewalt; open access; sexuelle Gewalt; violence against women
Methods for Improving Representativeness in a Web Survey on Sexual Assault Among College Students
Autor/in:
Berzofsky, Marcus; Langton, Lynn; et al.
Quelle: Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 34 (2019) 23-24, S 4838–4859
Inhalt: Many colleges and universities conduct web-based campus climate surveys to understand the prevalence and nature of sexual assault among their students. When designing and fielding a web survey to measure a sensitive topic like sexual assault, methodological decisions, including the length of the field period and the use or amount of an incentive, can affect the representativeness of the respondent sample leading to biased or imprecise estimates. This study uses data from the Campus Climate Survey Validation Study (CCSVS) to assess how the interaction between field period length and survey incentive amount affects nonresponse, sample representativeness, and the precision of survey estimates. Research suggests that using robust incentives gives potential survey respondents a reason to complete the survey beyond their intrinsic motivation to do so. Likewise, extending the field period gives more time to people who may be less intrinsically motivated to complete the survey. Both serve to increase sample size and representativeness, minimize bias, and improve estimate precision. Schools, however, sometimes lack the time and/or resources for both a robust incentive and a lengthy field period, and this study examines the extent to which the potential negative impacts of not using one can be mitigated by the presence of the other. Findings indicate that target response rates can be achieved using a smaller incentive if the field period is lengthy but, even with a lengthy field period, the use of a smaller incentive can result in biased estimates due to a lack of representativeness. Conversely, when a robust incentive is used and weights are developed to adjust for nonresponse, a shorter field period will not have a significant impact on point estimates, but the estimates will be less precise due to fewer respondents participating in the survey.
Schlagwörter:climate survey; college students; field period; Hochschule; incentive mechanisms; Nonresponse; sexual assault; sexuelle Belästigung; sexuelle Gewalt; Umfragenmethodik; web surveys
Quelle: Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 29 (2014) 3, S 476–496
Inhalt: A promising line of inquiry in sexual violence prevention involves training potential bystanders to intervene in situations where there is risk for violence. Theories of bystander intervention often discuss barriers to helping behavior, but there has been little empirical inquiry into this question. We will present findings of a study of both barriers and facilitators of helping behavior in the context of sexual violence among first-semester college students. Two hundred and forty-two first year college students completed surveys during their first year of college. Measures included assessment of bystander behavior, perceived barriers to helping, as well as a variety of other variables identified in the literature as key correlates of helping. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were used to (a) describe barriers and facilitators of helping, (b) examine the relationship between barriers and self-reports of helping, and (c) model individual differences in helping behavior. In quantitative analyses, barriers, as assessed in this study, were better predictors of helping behavior directed at strangers than helping of friends. Results suggested that open-ended responses about the facilitators and barriers to helping for sexual violence map well onto social-psychological models of bystander behavior, and that greater prosocial tendencies, an intrapersonal variable, increase actual helping behavior. A more specific understanding of what promotes and hinders helping can be used to enhance prevention education efforts focused on increasing helpful bystander actions.
Schlagwörter:bystander interventions; college students; Intervention; sexual assault; sexuelle Belästigung; sexuelle Gewalt; sexual harassment
A Global Exploratory Analysis of Men Participating in Gender-Based Violence Prevention
Autor/in:
Tolman, Richard M.; Casey, Erin A.; Allen, Christopher T.; Carlson, Juliana; Leek, Cliff; Storer, Heather L.
Quelle: Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 34 (2019, zuerst veröffentlicht online 2016) 16, S 3438-3465
Inhalt: Organizations addressing gender-based violence (GBV) increasingly include men as partners in prevention efforts. However, little is known about men who get involved in those efforts and what specific actions they take. We present analyses of data from an international sample of men involved in gender-based prevention work that aimed to describe (a) the nature of participants' involvement in prevention efforts, in both formal programming and in their daily lives; (b) characteristics of engaged men, including gender and bystander-related attitudes and beliefs, and social networks; and (c) factors that sustain men's involvement in GBV movements over time. Comparisons across global regions for these variables were also conducted. A total of 379 male-identified participants above 18 who had attended a GBV event in the past year completed an online survey (available in English, French, and Spanish). Respondents represented all continents except Antarctica, although North America was over-represented in the sample. Overall, respondents scored well above North American norms for men on support for gender equality and recognition of male privilege, and this was true across all geographic regions. Men in all regions reported moderate support from friends and somewhat less support from male relatives for their involvement in GBV prevention. Respondents in all regions reported high levels of active bystander and violence-preventive behavior. The most commonly reported motivations for involvement in GBV prevention included concern for related social justice issues, exposure to the issue of violence through work, hearing a moving story, or disclosures about domestic or sexual violence. Results were mainly similar across regions, but when regional differences emerge, they tended to be contrasts between the global north and global south, highlighting the importance of cross-fertilization across regions and a willingness to adapt critical learnings in new geographic settings.
Schlagwörter:bystander interventions; cultural contexts; domestic violence; gender-based violence; Intervention; Prävention; prevention & control; sexual assault; sexual violence; sexuelle Gewalt
CEWS Kategorie:Mentoring und Training, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, Sexuelle Belästigung und Gewalt