Evaluation of a Bystander-Focused Interpersonal Violence Prevention Program with High School Students

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Prev Sci
• Personal Author:
  Edwards, Katie M. ; Banyard, Victoria L. ; Sessarego, Stephanie N. ; Waterman, Emily A. ; Mitchell, Kimberly J. ; Chang, Hong
• Description:
  This study evaluated the effectiveness of a seven-session, bystander-focused, classroom-delivered curriculum (i.e., Bringing in the Bystander-High School Curriculum [BITB-HSC]) in reducing rates of interpersonal violence among high school students. High schools (N = 26) were randomly assigned to the treatment or control condition. In classrooms in treatment schools, students (n = 1081) completed a baseline survey, participated in the BITB-HSC, and completed an immediate post-test, a short-term post-test (approx. 2 months after intervention), and a long-term post-test (approx. 1 year after intervention). Youth in control schools (n = 1322) completed surveys at similar time points but did not participate in the BITB-HSC. Participants were 15.8 years old on average and largely White (85.1%) and heterosexual (84.5%). Students exposed to the BITB-HSC demonstrated significant short-term changes in victim empathy and bystander barriers/facilitators, and long-term changes in rape myths, media literacy, bystander readiness, and knowledge relative to youth in the control condition. Although the BITB-HSC had little long-term impact on actual bystander behavior, there were reductions in some forms of violence among students in the BITB-HSC condition relative to the control condition. Future research is needed to determine if, for whom, why, and in what contexts (e.g., classroom-based versus school-wide initiatives) bystander-focused violence prevention initiatives reduce violence.
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Article Bystander Cluster Analysis Cluster Randomized Control Trial Dating Violence Female High School Students Humans Male New England Prevention Relationship Abuse Sex Offenses Sexual Assault Surveys And Questionnaires Violence Youth

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• Source:
  Prev Sci. 20(4):488-498
• Pubmed ID:
  30762156
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC6520113
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  R01 CE002542/CE/NCIPC CDC HHS/United States ; R01-CEO02524/CC/CDC HHS/United States
• Volume:
  20
• Issue:
  4
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:1b862384c4c7f16ebe45c74d4b1d1c13611a8b44a843cfc0e5ba29b5607a1c36
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/78531/cdc_78531_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 236.05 KB ]