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Marcantonio TL, Haikalis M, Misquith C, Leone RM. Alcohol's Effects on the Bystander Decision-Making Model: A Systematic Literature Review. JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH 2024; 61:783-798. [PMID: 38010804 PMCID: PMC11105993 DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2023.2267547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
To decrease rates of sexual assault victimization, young people are encouraged to become involved when they see questionable sexual situations (i.e., be a prosocial bystander). Several factors can facilitate or inhibit intervention, including alcohol use. To inform bystander prevention programs that aim to address alcohol's impact on bystanders, the current study reviewed research focused on alcohol use and bystander decision making. In December 2022, the authors searched published studies from six major electronic databases. Empirical articles were deemed eligible if they examined alcohol and the bystander decision-making model within the context of sexual assault, were based in the United States or Canada, and not an intervention study; 32 studies were included in the final review. Across 32 studies published between 2015-2022, 12 assessed the proximal effects of alcohol on bystander constructs and the additional studies examined the distal effects of alcohol on bystander constructs. Alcohol use appeared to impede earlier steps of the bystander decision-making model; however, alcohol use was associated with impeding and facilitating bystander decision making at the latter half of the model. Overall, alcohol use appears to be negatively rather than positively associated with bystander constructs. Bystander intervention programs may want to move beyond the narrative of alcohol as a risk factor for sexual assault and discuss how alcohol impairs a bystanders' ability to recognize risk. More work is needed to ensure researchers assess alcohol consistently and with similar methods (number of drinks, subjective intoxication) to increase generalizability of findings to prevention programs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Chelsea Misquith
- Center for Alcohol Addiction Studies, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University
| | - Ruschelle M Leone
- Department of Health Policy & Behavioral Science, Georgia State University
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Salazar LF, Parrott DJ, DiLillo D, Gervais S, Schipani-McLaughlin AM, Leone R, Swartout K, Simpson L, Moore R, Wilson T, Flowers N, Church H, Baildon A. Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of RealConsent2.0: a web-based intervention to promote prosocial alcohol-involved bystander behavior in young men. Trials 2023; 24:804. [PMID: 38087306 PMCID: PMC10717516 DOI: 10.1186/s13063-023-07797-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sexual violence (SV) is a significant, global public health problem, particularly among young adults. Promising interventions exist, including prosocial bystander intervention programs that train bystanders to intervene in situations at-risk for SV. However, these programs suffer from critical weaknesses: (1) they do not address the proximal effect of alcohol use on bystander decision-making and (2) they rely on self-report measures to evaluate outcomes. To overcome these limitations, we integrate new content specific to alcohol use within the context of prosocial bystander intervention into an existing, evidence-based program, RealConsent1.0. The resulting program, RealConsent2.0, aims to facilitate bystander behavior among sober and intoxicated bystanders and uses a virtual reality (VR) environment to assess bystander behavior in the context of acute alcohol use. METHODS This protocol paper presents the design of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in which we evaluate RealConsent2.0 for efficacy in increasing alcohol- and non-alcohol-involved bystander behavior compared to RealConsent1.0 or to an attention-control program ("Taking Charge"). The RCT is being implemented in Atlanta, GA, and Lincoln, NE. Participants will be 605, healthy men aged 21-25 years recruited through social media, community-based flyers, and university email lists. Eligible participants who provide informed consent and complete the baseline survey, which includes self-reported bystander behavior, are then randomized to one of six conditions: RealConsent2.0/alcohol, RealConsent2.0/placebo, RealConsent1.0/alcohol, RealConsent1.0/placebo, Taking Charge/alcohol, or Taking Charge/placebo. After completing their assigned program, participants complete a laboratory session in which they consume an alcohol (target BrAC: .08%) or placebo beverage and then engage in the Bystanders in Sexual Assault Virtual Environments (BSAVE), a virtual house party comprising situations in which participants have opportunities to intervene. Self-reported bystander behavior across alcohol and non-alcohol contexts is also assessed at 6- and 12-months post-intervention. Secondary outcomes include attitudes toward, outcome expectancies for, and self-efficacy for bystander behavior via self-report. DISCUSSION RealConsent2.0 is the first web-based intervention for young men that encourages and teaches skills to engage in prosocial bystander behavior to prevent SV while intoxicated. This is also the first study to assess the proximal effect of alcohol on bystander behavior via a VR environment. TRIAL REGISTRATION Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT04912492. Registered on 05 February 2021.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura F Salazar
- School of Public Health, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3995, Atlanta, GA, 30302-3995, USA.
| | - Dominic J Parrott
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 5010, Atlanta, GA, 30302-5010, USA
| | - David DiLillo
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 238 Burnett Hall, Lincoln, NE, 68588-0308, USA
| | - Sarah Gervais
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 238 Burnett Hall, Lincoln, NE, 68588-0308, USA
| | | | - Ruschelle Leone
- School of Public Health, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3995, Atlanta, GA, 30302-3995, USA
| | - Kevin Swartout
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 5010, Atlanta, GA, 30302-5010, USA
| | - Lauren Simpson
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 238 Burnett Hall, Lincoln, NE, 68588-0308, USA
| | - Renita Moore
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 5010, Atlanta, GA, 30302-5010, USA
| | - Tiffany Wilson
- School of Public Health, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3995, Atlanta, GA, 30302-3995, USA
| | - Nyla Flowers
- School of Public Health, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3995, Atlanta, GA, 30302-3995, USA
| | - Haley Church
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 238 Burnett Hall, Lincoln, NE, 68588-0308, USA
| | - Amanda Baildon
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 238 Burnett Hall, Lincoln, NE, 68588-0308, USA
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Angelone DJ, Mitchell D, Yucel E, Davis KC, George WH. An Evaluation of the Methodological Underpinnings of a Laboratory Paradigm for the Study of Sexual Violence. JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE 2022; 37:NP22092-NP22113. [PMID: 35042375 DOI: 10.1177/08862605211068081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Ethically constructed laboratory paradigms can provide behaviorally based opportunities to study sexual violence as an addition to questionnaires. One such paradigm invites male participants to watch and show sexual materials to a female confederate as an analog of sexual perpetration. However, there has been inconsistency in the confederate's presentation, such that she either expresses a dislike of sexual material or her preferences are omitted. Some researchers have also questioned whether an expressed dislike is analogous to an expressed nonconsent. As such, the primary goal of the current study was to determine whether confederate expressions of dislike, nonconsent, or the omission of a preference, differentially affect male participants' behavior within a well-established paradigm. That is, we attempted to clarify the appropriate methodology for future researchers (i.e., the validity of the paradigm) and determine the impact of such a situational manipulation on laboratory-based sexual violence. Participants were 276 adult men, who were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) dislike, (2) nonconsent, or (3) said nothing (the omission of a preference) and then asked to show a brief video clip to the female confederate who expressed these preferences. Overall, exposure to experimental condition predicted sexual video-showing over and above that of social desirability, hostile sexism (HS), and sexual violence history, suggesting that situational variables can play a significant role in laboratory-based sexual violence. Greater HS was associated with greater likelihood of sexual video-showing in the nonconsent condition relative to the dislike condition. Sexual video-showing was most frequent in the said nothing condition. In sum, researchers should be mindful of the confederate expression (or lack thereof) of preferences for sexual materials when using the sexual imposition paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Damon Mitchell
- Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT, USA
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