The Bystander Approach: Strengths-Based Sexual Assault Prevention With At-Risk Groups

This study prospectively examined the impact of men's own attitudes and behaviors and perceptions of peer attitudes and behaviors on intentions and engagement in prosocial bystander behavior. Undergraduate men completed surveys at baseline and 4-and 7-month follow-ups. Men's perceptions of peer attitudes and behaviors and their own attitudes and behaviors were both important predictors of intentions. However, men's own attitudes and behaviors appeared to be more robustly predictive of behavior. Intentions to engage in bystander behavior were not predictive of behavior. Results support two specific areas of bystander intervention programming addressing misperceptions of social norms and personal attitudes and behaviors.

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“…McMahon and Farmer (2009) found that, among those on athletic teams, members with a closer team bond reported greater willingness to intervene.…”

Section: Social Norms Theorymentioning

confidence: 96%

Predictors of Sexual Assault–Specific Prosocial Bystander Behavior and Intentions

Austin

Dardis

Wilson

et al. 2015

Violence Against Women

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“…sports teams, fraternities, residence halls) can also be key areas to build community and assess whether this contributes to increased bystander behavior. For example, McMahon and Farmer (2009) found that college athletes with a greater sense of team bonding reported a greater willingness to intervene with teammates who acted in abusive ways. However, research should also explore whether there are times that a strong sense of subgroup community may prohibit certain types of pro-social behavior.…”

Section: Sense Of Community: Research Directions For College Campusesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Call for Research on Bystander Intervention to Prevent Sexual Violence: The Role of Campus Environments

McMahon

2015

American J of Comm Psychol

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An important next step for the field is to determine what setting-level factors beyond the individual are critical to fostering campus environments that support pro-social, helpful bystander intervention action to prevent sexual violence. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide a research agenda to investigate key areas of the campus environment and their potential influence on bystander intervention. To create the research agenda, a number of steps were followed including: (1) systematically reviewing the larger bystander literature to identify key environmental areas, (2) assessing what research is available specific to college campuses and sexual assault in each of these areas, and (3) outlining future research to address each of these areas on college campuses and determine their applicability to sexual violence situations. Five main groups of factors were found to influence bystander intervention beyond the individual, group and situational levels, including: social norms, sense of community, pro-social modeling, policies, and the physical environment. Certain areas of research on environmental influences on bystander intervention are more developed such as social norms, with little research on areas such as policies and the physical environment. However, further research is needed in each of the identified five areas to help identify how college campuses can support bystander intervention.

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“…This comes from a call to not only focus on student athletes as group at-risk for committing violence, but as one that holds high leadership potential and status (McMahon, 2007;McMahon & Farmer, 2009;Moynihan, Banyard, Arnold, Eckstein, & Stapleton, 2010). A number of studies have focused on engaging athletes in bystander intervention efforts and found that bystander programs appear to be effective on positively impacting bystander attitudes and behaviors, (i.e., Foubert & Perry, 2007;Katz, Heisterkamp, & Fleming, 2011;Miller et al, 2012;Moynihan & Banyard, 2008;Moynihan et al, 2010).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Participation in High School Sports and Bystander Intentions, Efficacy to Intervene, and Rape Myth Beliefs

McMahon

2014

J Interpers Violence

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Debate exists as to whether male athletes are more prone to commit acts of sexual violence and maintain problematic attitudes about sexual assault. To contribute to the literature on this relationship, this study posed the following research questions: (1) Do those students who participated in high school sports and those who did not differ significantly in their attitudes about sexual violence and willingness to intervene as a bystander? Do these differ among types of rape myths and bystander intervention situations? (2) Within a group of athletes, are there significant differences by gender or type of sport (contact sport vs. non-contact?) To answer these questions, surveys were analyzed with a sample of recent high school graduates the summer before entering college (N = 3,588). Results indicate that there were only minor differences between those students who participated in high school varsity sports and those who did not. Students who participated in sports had greater acceptance of three out of five types of rape myths, and less willingness to intervene with perpetrators after an assault; however, the effect sizes were small. There were no significant differences for bystander efficacy. The interaction between sport and gender was significant, but contact sport was not. The findings suggest that there may be aspects of male athletic participation in sports that needs to be addressed, yet there also exists the potential for engaging athletes as leaders who can act as prosocial bystanders.

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The Bystander Approach: Strengths-Based Sexual Assault Prevention With At-Risk Groups

Cited by 32 publications

References 29 publications

Predictors of Sexual Assault–Specific Prosocial Bystander Behavior and Intentions

Predictors of Sexual Assault–Specific Prosocial Bystander Behavior and Intentions

Call for Research on Bystander Intervention to Prevent Sexual Violence: The Role of Campus Environments

Participation in High School Sports and Bystander Intentions, Efficacy to Intervene, and Rape Myth Beliefs

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