Effects of Campus Sexual Assault Prevention Programs on Attitudes and Behaviors Among American College Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Precollege Risk Markers for College Rape and Verbal Sexual Coercion: Same or Different?

Verbal sexual coercion (VSC) and rape are common experiences among college women. Although they have been theorized to involve different risk markers, few prospective studies have examined predictors of VSC and rape separately. The present prospective study was designed to identify precollege risk markers for VSC and rape in first-year college women, with the goal of considering the degree to which they overlap or differ. Women (N = 449) recruited from the community just prior to high school graduation completed measures of sexual victimization (SV) since age 14 but prior to college, sexual refusal assertiveness, high school heavy episodic drinking (HED), college drinking intentions, and sociosexuality. Follow-up surveys at the end of the first and second college semesters assessed VSC and rape. Using the Sexual Experiences Survey's severity scoring method, women were classified into one of three groups according to the most severe type of SV reported in the first year of college: neither VSC nor rape (71%), VSC (16%), and rape (13%). Most women who experienced rape (73%) also experienced VSC. Precollege SV and college drinking intentions predicted both rape and VSC. Sexual refusal assertiveness and high school HED did not independently predict either form of victimization. Sociosexuality predicted rape but not VSC. Findings suggest a substantial overlap in the predictors of VSC and rape and support the severity continuum underlying many conceptualizations of SV.

Preventing Sexual Violence: A Behavioral Problem Without a Behaviorally Informed Solution

What solutions can we find in the research literature for preventing sexual violence, and what psychological theories have guided these efforts? We gather all primary prevention efforts to reduce sexual violence from 1985 to 2018 and provide a bird's-eye view of the literature. We first review predominant theoretical approaches to sexual-violence perpetration prevention by highlighting three interventions that exemplify the zeitgeist of primary prevention efforts at various points during this time period. We find a throughline in primary prevention interventions: They aim to change attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge (i.e., ideas) to reduce sexual-violence perpetration and victimization. Our meta-analysis of these studies tests the efficacy of this approach directly and finds that although many interventions are successful at changing ideas, behavior change does not follow. There is little to no relationship between changing attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge and reducing victimization or perpetration. We also observe trends over time, including a shift from targeting a reduction in perpetration to targeting an increase in bystander intervention. We conclude by highlighting promising new strategies for measuring victimization and perpetration and calling for interventions that are informed by theories of behavior change and that center sexually violent behavior as the key outcome of interest.

Protocol for designing and evaluating an undergraduate public health course on sexual and reproductive health at a public university in California

Introduction

Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is associated with positive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes, including increased contraceptive use, lower rates of unintended pregnancy and prevention of sexual violence. However, implementation of and requirements for CSE vary across the United States which can negatively impact students, both during and beyond high school, including among college students.

Methods

and Analysis: This paper describes the research protocol for a multi-staged approach for designing, implementing and evaluating an SRH course for up to 60 undergraduate students at a public university in California. Before the class is offered, we will conduct 20 in-depth interviews with current students, educators and course design experts to learn from their experiences and seek their guidance on course design. To evaluate the course, enrolled students will complete a pre-course and a post-course survey before and after class is taught, to assess students' attitudes and values relevant to educational concepts and the format and delivery of the course and its modules and activities. Approximately 20 students will take part in an in-depth exit interview, after completing the course, to gather perceptions about how the course impacted their knowledge and behavior. The goal is to refine materials for future in-person course offerings and develop a prototype for a fully online version of the course.

Discussion

This study introduces a novel university-level course to provide young adult students comprehensive, evidence-based education on sexual and reproductive health from a public health perspective. The program leverages existing CSE efforts, enhancing them with academic rigor, inclusive content and digital inclusion. This approach, inclusive of diverse sexual orientations, content on pleasure and sexual violence prevention, aims to fill existing gaps in university curricula and also set a new standard in CSE. The project's innovative and multidisciplinary design offers a model for broader impact within a large public university system and beyond.

Can Virtual Reality be Used for the Prevention of Peer Sexual Harassment in Adolescence? First Evaluation of the Virtual-PRO Program

Objective: The present study analyzed the Virtual-PRO program's efficacy in preventing peer sexual harassment by promoting the bystanders' active intervention and incorporating a virtual reality (VR) component. The impact of the program on sexist attitudes, moral disengagement, the intention to intervene as bystanders, and the involvement in sexual aggression and victimization was tested. Method: Virtual-PRO is a VR-enhanced sexual harassment curricular prevention program of six one-hour sessions. The evaluation comprised a pre-test, a post-test after the intervention, and a follow-up measure at three months. In the study, 579 Spanish adolescent students aged between 12 and 17 years (M = 14.76, SD = 0.88; 47.1% boys) were randomly grouped into experimental (n = 286) and control (n = 293) conditions. Results: The Virtual-PRO program effectively controlled participants' levels of sexism and reduced moral disengagement in the experimental group compared to the control group three months after the intervention. The program also showed positive results in changing bystander behavior, increasing the intention to intervene when the victim was not a friend. Finally, visual/verbal and online victimization decreased in the experimental group and increased in the control group. No differences were found for physical sexual victimization and sexual aggression. Conclusions: The first trial of the Virtual-PRO program is promising and highlights the use of VR as a sexual harassment prevention tool. Follow-up measures are essential to determine the impact of interventions accurately.

Sexual violence against sexual minority women in STEM: Compound backlash

BACKGROUND

Recent research has found that gender parity (i.e., the ratio of women to men) in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines is associated with sexual violence (SV) victimization for women. This finding may reflect a type of backlash wherein SV is a means of punishing women who are perceived to be violating their gender roles and threatening the male hegemony. Sexual minorities, who are likewise disproportionately victims of SV, report experiencing heterosexist hostility and harassment in STEM disciplines. There is reason to suspect that the combination of these marginalized identity positions (e.g., a sexual minority woman in gender-balanced STEM) may amplify perceived gender role violations and exacerbate the risk of SV victimization.

METHODS

Data were collected from undergraduate women at five institutions of higher education in the United States. Sampling was stratified by STEM vs. non-STEM majors and male-dominated vs. gender-balanced majors. Sexual violence was measured via the revised Sexual Experiences Survey. We tested the interaction of sexual minority status and gender parity in STEM on SV via fixed effects OLS regression.

RESULTS

Sexual minority women in gender-balanced STEM were most frequently victims of SV. Women in male-dominated STEM majors were at no greater risk of SV victimization, regardless of sexual minority status, than their peers in non-STEM majors.

IMPLICATIONS

These findings suggest the possibility of a compound form of backlash, wherein women are exponentially victimized because their sexual identity and their membership in these STEM fields are seen as dual challenges to the male hegemony. If true, this could exacerbate health disparities rather than promote health equity for these sexual minority women. Findings point to the ongoing need to challenge hegemonic gender norms, focus prevention programs on populations most at risk, and ensure they are provided the appropriate resources for support.

Gender-based violence among healthcare students: Prevalence, description and associated factors

OBJECTIVES

The aims of the current study were 1) to provide the prevalence of five types of gender-based violence (GBV) among male and female healthcare students; 2) to describe perpetrators' status, where the GBV occurred, and psychological and behavioural impacts of the GBV; and 3) to identify factors associated with GBV.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study was conducted among voluntary healthcare students in France.

SETTING

Health Campus at Rouen and nursing schools in Normandy, France.

PARTICIPANTS

Volunteer healthcare students of 18 years and over.

DATA COLLECTED

Five types of GBV were recorded: GBV1: damage to a person's image due to a sexual connotation on social networks, GBV2: sexist remarks and behaviour, GBV3: comments with sexual connotations, GBV4: sexual assaults and GBV5: rape or attempted rape. Perpetrators' status, where the GBV occurred, psychological and behavioural impacts of GBV were also recorded.

RESULTS

One thousand one hundred and fifty-two students were included. The mean age was 20.8 years (SD = 2.26), 82.6% of students were women (0.4% non-binary). Since the beginning of their healthcare study, 41.2% of students CI 95% [39.7-42.6] were victim of at least one type of GBV: 15.8% among men CI 95% [13.2-18.4] and 46.0% CI 95% [44.4-47.6] among women (p < 0.001). The perpetrators were student peers, regardless of the type of GBV, healthcare workers for the GB2 and GBV3, and patients except for GBV5. The main consequences of GBV on health was psychological and eating related. After multivariate analysis, being a woman, LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Queer and other), a nurse, a physiotherapist student, having a job, living with roommates and year of study were risk factors for GBV.

CONCLUSION

GBV is so common at healthcare universities and could have such severe consequences for students that more work is needed to generate a culture change and ensure safe learning environments.