Engaging male bystanders to reduce sexual aggression: The effects of online training and bystander alcohol intoxication

University Of Nebraska Lincoln, Lincoln NE

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Abstract

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Bystander training programs have recently proliferated on college campuses as a means to reduce sexual assault. While bystander training programs show promise in reducing sexual assault and have the potential to engage men as allies in this task (Coker et al., 2014), evaluations of these programs have relied largely on self report methods to measure primary outcomes (i.e., bystander efforts to intervene). Additional research is needed to understand situational factors that influence the likelihood of a bystander taking action. The present project addresses these needs by investigating the unique and interactive effects of an online bystander training program and alcohol intoxication on men's actual bystander behaviors observed in a laboratory setting. Based on prior theoretical and empirical evidence it is expected that participation in an online bystander training program will result in increased bystander behaviors to reduce sexual aggression during a laboratory analogue. Further, theories of alcohol's myopic effects on cognitive and attentional processes suggest that drinking may play a critical role in bystander behaviors (Steele & Josephs, 1990). It is expected that bystander alcohol intoxication will result in fewer and poorer quality bystander behaviors and that alcohol intoxication will moderate associations between the online bystander intervention and bystander behaviors such that the effects of the intervention will be weakened by alcohol intoxication. Knowledge gained from this study will enhance the development of programs aimed at engaging men as active bystanders to reduce sexual assault by shedding light on the interactive effects of participation in a bystander training program and acute alcohol intoxication on actual bystander behaviors.