Rape Prevention With College Males

Abstract

This study investigated the immediate impact of a video-based prevention program developed to decrease undergraduate men’s potential to commit rape. Three video segments (rape myth acceptance, victim empathy, and outcome expectancies) were developed through expert consultation and focus groups. Evidence for the construct validity of each component was evaluated by examining change scores in a pilot study of 101 male undergraduates on measures of rape myth acceptance, victim empathy, and outcome expectancies. In the main study, 102 male undergraduates were randomly assigned to either the experimental program consisting of the video-based intervention or an equivalently long, alternate video-based program judged to contain none of the experimental elements. The experimental video produced greater immediate changes on measures of rape myth acceptance, attitudes toward interpersonal violence, adversarial sexual beliefs, attraction to sexual aggression, rape empathy, and self-efficacy ratings. Limitations of this study and directions for future research with college men are discussed.

Challenges responding to sexual violence: Differences between college campuses and communities

“…Campus-based sexual assault programs can also target students, particularly those groups who may be at risk of offending (White & Smith, 2004). Programs offered by campus-based sexual assault centers have been evaluated and the results of these evaluations suggest that sexual assault prevention programs can change attitudes about rape and reduce the risk of victimization (Forst, Lightfoot, & Burrichter, 1996;Johansson & Geer, 2003;O'Donohue, Yeater, & Fanetti, 2003). Campus-based programs have been criticized for their overall lack of emphasis on self-defense training (Sochting, Fairbrother, & Koch, 2004).…”

Rape Myth Acceptance among Adolescent Males – How to Integrate Components of Preventative Sexual Assault Programs into Sex Education

“…Topics that were commonly covered include the legal definitions of rape and sexual assault (Schewe & O'Donohue, 1993, an in-depth analysis of rape as a violent crime (O'Donohue, Yeater, & Fanetti, 2003), and discussion about the actual prevalence of sexual assault and rape (Paul & Gray, 2011). This information is critical because previous research has shown that men who commit sexually violent acts do not define their actions as coercive or manipulative (Heppner et al, 1995).…”

“…Programmers must rely on the notion that attitude change has the potential to change future behavior. O'Donohue, Yeater, & Fanetti, (2003) reported that sexual violence is the result of multiple factors, one of which is directly connected to a person's internal inhibitions. This theory is based on the idea that one's perception and how they react to external stimuli is dependent on the regulation of their own thoughts and beliefs.…”

“…Many interventions are brief, lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours in length (Foubert & Marriott, 1997;Klaw et al, 2005). These short programs are unable to produce attitude change that lasts longer than a few weeks (O'Donohue, Yeater, & Fanetti, 2003). Anderson and Whiston (2005) believed that it is "unrealistic" to expect short programs to have any type of a lasting impact on the attitudes and behaviors of participants.…”

Make a Move and Long Live Love+

“…Outcome measures were based on the objectives of the program and taken from previous studies exploring determinants of sexual harassment. Previously identified determinants include gender attitudes (Abbey et al, 2001;McCauley et al, 2013), adverse sexual beliefs, attitudes about gender roles, acceptance of verbal pressure in obtaining sex (Abbey et al, 2001), rape myth acceptance, acceptance of interpersonal violence, adverse sexual beliefs, rape empathy, and self-efficacy regarding dealing with potentially abusive situations (O'Donohue, Yeater, & Fanetti, 2003). This paper describes the effect evaluation of a trial implementation of Make a Move in Dutch residential youth care.…”