Exposure to a youth-led sexual violence prevention program among adolescents: The impact of engagement.

Hopfauf

Simon

et al. 2022

J Interpers Violence

Sexual and related forms of violence among middle and high school students are pervasive public health issues, and thus, there is a growing emphasis on the development and evaluation of sexual violence prevention efforts for youth. Caregivers such as parents are important partners in this work as they can facilitate youths’ involvement (e.g., give them permission to participate, provide instrumental support such as rides), but their perception of their youth’s involvement in sexual violence prevention efforts is largely unexplored. The current paper examined caregivers’ perceptions of their teens’ participation in a community-wide, out-of-school, youth-led sexual violence prevention initiative. Some caregivers of youth who were involved in the initiative ( N = 19; 79.9% White; 21.1% Native American) responded to closed- and open-ended questions about what their teen had talked to them about in relation to the initiative, why their teen participated in the initiative, and how involvement impacted their teen. Furthermore, caregivers who attended events themselves responded to questions about what they learned, what they liked best, and what they liked least. Over half of caregivers said that their teens talked to them about bystander intervention, social emotional skills, and what constitutes sexual violence. Perceptions of the initiative were largely positive both in terms of what the teen learned at part of the programming and in caregivers’ own experience participating. These results are promising for the role of caregivers in partners in prevention.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Caregivers’ Perceptions of a Youth-led Sexual Violence Prevention Initiative: A Brief Report

Hopfauf

Simon

et al. 2022

J Interpers Violence

“…Furthermore, given the large presence of Native American youth in the community in which the initiative took place, Lakota culture and traditions were integrated throughout various programming components. For further details, including results, see Banyard et al (in press) and Edwards et al (in press).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Youth perceptions of prevention norms and peer violence perpetration and victimization: A prospective analysis

Waterman

Banyard

et al. 2022

Aggressive Behavior

Self Cite

The purpose of the current study is to prospectively examine the extent to which social norms perceptions regarding commitment to ending sexual violence are associated with subsequent peer victimization and perpetration experiences. Two types of social norms perceptions were examined: 1) peer norms (perceptions of norms among other students in their city), and 2) adult norms (perceptions of norms among adults in their city). Participants were 1259 middle and high school youth from a single school district (three high schools and five middle schools) who completed online surveys at two‐time points, 6 months apart. Adolescents for whom perceptions of peer norms were one standard deviation or more above and below the mean of actual norms were “over‐perceivers” and “under‐perceivers,” respectively. Overperceivers overestimated their peers' commitment to ending sexual violence, whereas underperceivers underestimated their peers' commitment to ending sexual violence. Other adolescents were “accurate perceivers”; these adolescents were accurate in their estimation of their peers' commitment to ending sexual violence. In general, underperceivers (22.2% of the sample) were more likely than accurate perceivers (77.8% of the sample) to subsequently experience peer‐to‐peer perpetration and victimization. Adolescents who perceived adults to have a higher commitment to ending sexual violence were less likely to report subsequent perpetration and victimization for some forms of peer‐to‐peer violence. These findings highlight the potential promise of the social norms approaches to prevent peer‐to‐peer violence among youth which aligns with increasing calls in the field to integrate these approaches into comprehensive sexual violence prevention.

“…For example, events included things like Lakota elders as guest speakers, talking circles, smudging, making talking sticks, and discussions about the impacts and trauma of colonization on Lakota people. For more details on Youth VIP, see (Banyard et al, in press; Edwards et al, in press; Waterman et al, 2021; YouthProject, 2021).…”

Section: Researcher Positionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Engaging Native American Youth and Their Caregivers in Sexual Violence Research: A Case Study Documenting Challenges, Opportunities, and Lessons Learned

Herrington

Charge

et al. 2022

J Interpers Violence

Native Americans (the preferred term of our partners/co-authors) experience high rates of sexual violence, which is rooted in colonization and multiple historical traumas. Sexual violence leads to numerous deleterious outcomes, underscoring the critical need for prevention early in life. Yet, most research to date on sexual violence has not focused on Native American populations, and we know little about the most effective strategies to recruit and retain Native American individuals in sexual violence prevention research. The purpose of the current study, grounded in principles of participatory action research, is to describe strategies that were used to recruit (e.g., traditional feeds, door knocking) and retain (e.g., monetary incentives, ongoing community engagement) Native American youth for a study that sought to assess, via surveys and qualitative interviews, the impacts of a youth-led sexual violence prevention initiative in a small city in the Great Plains. We also collected qualitative data from Native American caregivers regarding their perceptions of research. Overall, 67.9% ( n = 545) of eligible Native American youth completed the survey, and school and door knocking were most effective methods of recruitment/enrollment followed by community and school events and texting. Over the course of 3 years of data collection, there were higher rates of attrition among Native American youth compared to white youth, and several factors (e.g., older age, sexual assault victimization) predicted attrition among Native American youth. Native American caregivers’ responses reflected on reasons it is hard to engage youth and caregivers in research (e.g., lack of time, distrust) as well as strategies to enhance engagement (e.g., personal connection, providing community resources). Throughout the paper, Native American co-authors and project partners reflect on these findings. Implications for future sexual violence prevention research with Native American youth and their caregivers that uses decolonized, participatory action research methodologies are discussed.