Concurrent Administration of Sexual Assault Prevention and Risk Reduction Programming

Abstract

The present study describes the 4- and 7-month postintervention outcomes of a sexual assault risk reduction program for women, which was part of an evaluation that included a prevention program for men. Relative to the control group, participants evidenced more relational sexual assertiveness and self-protective behavior, and were more likely to indicate that they utilized active verbal and physical self-defense strategies. Whether or not women experienced subsequent victimization did not differ between groups. Relative to control group women who were victimized, program participants who were victimized between the 4- and 7-month follow-up blamed the perpetrator more and evidenced less self-blame.

A Critical Review of Sexual Violence Prevention on College Campuses

“…Note, however, that other studies with self-defense components did not report such findings [41,[48][49][50]. Also note that this study (Hollander) is not without flaws.…”

Psychological Consequences Associated With Positive and Negative Responses to Disclosure of Sexual Assault Among College Women

“…Data were garnered from a larger study examining the effectiveness of sexual assault prevention programming for college students living in primarily freshmen residence halls Gidycz, Orchowski, & Berkowitz, 2011; Gidycz, Orchowski, Probst, et al, 2015). The present study utilized only the responses from women randomly assigned to the control group.…”

Women's self‐defense and sexual assault resistance: The state of the field

“…In addition to reducing the risk of assault, self‐defense training has other benefits to women that extend far beyond the moment of assault. Multiple studies have found that women who learn self‐defense report greatly increased self‐defense self‐efficacy , or the confidence that one could defend oneself effectively if assaulted (David, Simpson, & Cotton, ; Gidycz et al, ; Hollander, , , ; Jordan & Mossman, ; Kidder, Boell, & Moyer, ; McDaniel, ; Orchowski et al, ; Ozer & Bandura, ; Pinciotti & Orcutt, ; Senn, ; Senn et al, ; Senn, Gee, & Thake, ; Weitlauf, Cervone, Smith, & Wright, ; Weitlauf, Smith, & Cervone, ). Self‐efficacy is a major predictor of actual effectiveness (Bandura, , ) and is linked to a range of positive psychological and behavioral outcomes (Pinciotti & Orcutt, ), including assertive responses to sexual assault (Nurius, Norris, Graham, & Gaylord, ).…”

“…Self‐defense students report decreased symptoms of anxiety and depression (Brecklin, ; Ozer & Bandura, ). Survivors who have taken self‐defense classes also report decreases in PTSD symptoms (David et al, ), as well as reductions in self‐blame for past assaults (Brecklin & Ullman, ; Gidycz et al, ; Gidycz, Rich, Orchowski, King, & Miller, ; Senn, Hobden, & Eliasziw, ) as they come to understand the dynamics of assault and attribute more responsibility to perpetrators rather than to victims (Gidycz et al, ; Gidycz et al, , ; Senn et al, ; Senn et al, ; Senn et al, ; Senn, Saunders, & Gee, ). Reducing self‐blame may decrease vulnerability to future assaults, because self‐blame impedes assertive resistance (Nurius et al, , ).…”

“…It also increases their ability to recognize abusive behavior and risky situations (Gidycz et al, ; Jordan & Mossman, , ) and their likelihood of reporting it to others (Gidycz et al, ; Sarnquist et al, ; Sinclair et al, ). Importantly, it affects women's behavioral intentions ; after a self‐defense class, they are more likely to report that they intend to use forceful or assertive rather than passive strategies to resist an assault (Gidycz et al, ; ; Senn et al, ; Senn, et al, ). As noted above, assertive strategies are associated with rape avoidance.…”