Trajectory Analysis of the Campus Serial Rapist Assumption

IMPORTANCE:

Rape on college campuses has been addressed recently by a presidential proclamation, federal legislation, advocacy groups, and popular media. Many initiatives assume that most college men who perpetrate rape are serial rapists. The scientific foundation for this perspective is surprisingly limited.

OBJECTIVE:

To determine whether a group of serial rapists exists by identifying cohesive groups of young men, indicated by their trajectories of rape likelihood across high school and college.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS:

Latent class growth analysis of the 2 largest longitudinal data sets of adolescent sexual violence on college campuses using 2 distinct groups of male college students. The first group was used for derivation modeling (n = 847; data collected from August 1990 through April 1995) and the second for validation modeling (n = 795; data collected from March 2008 through May 2011). Final data analyses were conducted from February 16, 2015, through February 20, 2015.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES:

Rape perpetration assessed using the Sexual Experiences Survey.

RESULTS:

Across samples, 178 of 1642 participants (10.8%) reported having perpetrated at least 1 rape from 14 years of age through the end of college. A 3-trajectory model best fit both the derivation and validation data sets. Trajectories reflected low or time-limited (92.6% of participants), decreasing (5.3%), and increasing (2.1%) rape patterns. No consistently high trajectory was found. Most men who perpetrated a rape before college were classified in the decreasing trajectory. During college, the increasing trajectory included 14 men (15.2%) who reported having perpetrated a rape, the decreasing trajectory included 30 men (32.6%), and the low or time-limited included 48 men (52.2%). No participant in the low or time-limited trajectory reported perpetrating a rape during more than 1 period. Most men (67 [72.8%]) who committed college rape only perpetrated rape during 1 academic year.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE:

Although a small group of men perpetrated rape across multiple college years, they constituted a significant minority of those who committed college rape and did not compose the group at highest risk of perpetrating rape when entering college. Exclusive emphasis on serial predation to guide risk identification, judicial response, and rape-prevention programs is misguided. To deter college rape, prevention should be initiated before, and continue during, college. Child and adolescent health care professionals are well positioned to intervene during the early teenage years by informing parents about the early onset of nonconsensual sexual behavior.

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By:  Swartout KM¹, Koss MP², White JW³, Thompson MP⁴, Abbey A⁵, Bellis AL¹.

¹Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta.

²Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson.

³Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro.

⁴Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina.

⁵Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.

JAMA Pediatr. 2015 Dec;169(12):1148-54. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.0707.

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An Evaluation of Two Dating Violence Prevention Programs on a College Campus

Dating violence is a serious and prevalent public health problem that is associated with numerous negative physical and psychological health outcomes, and yet there has been limited evaluation of prevention programs on college campuses. A recent innovation in campus prevention focuses on mobilizing bystanders to take action. To date, bystander programs have mainly been compared with no treatment control groups raising questions about what value is added to dating violence prevention by focusing on bystanders. 

This study compared a single 90-min bystander education program for dating violence prevention with a traditional awareness education program, as well as with a no education control group. Using a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design with follow-up at 2 months, a sample of predominately freshmen college students was randomized to either the bystander (n = 369) or traditional awareness (n = 376) dating violence education program. A non-randomized control group of freshmen students who did not receive any education were also surveyed (n = 224). Students completed measures of attitudes, including rape myth acceptance, bystander efficacy, and intent to help as well as behavioral measures related to bystander action and victimization. 

Results showed that the bystander education program was more effective at changing attitudes, beliefs, efficacy, intentions, and self-reported behaviors compared with the traditional awareness education program. Both programs were significantly more effective than no education. 

The findings of this study have important implications for future dating violence prevention educational programming, emphasizing the value of bystander education programs for primary dating violence prevention among college students.

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By:  Peterson K1, Sharps P2, Banyard V3, Powers RA4, Kaukinen C5, Gross D2, Decker MR2, Baatz C6, Campbell J2.

• 1University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO, USA kpeters2@uccs.edu.
• 2Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
• 3University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA.
• 4University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
• 5University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA.
• 6University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO, USA. 
• J Interpers Violence. 2016 Mar 13. pii: 0886260516636069.

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Examining the Effects of Drinking & Interpersonal Protective Behaviors on Unwanted Sexual Experiences in College Women

INTRODUCTION:

Recent evidence suggests interpersonal protective behaviors (IPBs) may be more effective than alcohol-based strategies at decreasing alcohol-related sexual consequences. However, no studies have examined individual IPBs to assess their unique influences on specific sexual consequences. The current study used a longitudinal design to examine the direct effects of typical weekly drinking and specific IPBs on unwanted sex. IPBs were also examined as moderators of the relationship between drinking and unwanted sex.

METHODS:

Randomly sampled female drinkers attending a northeastern university (N=191) completed a baseline survey measuring typical weekly drinking and IPBs and a six-month follow-up assessing unwanted sex. Bootstrapped regression examined the effects.

RESULTS:

Drinking predicted unwanted sex after accounting for IPBs. Vigilance-related IPBs were negatively associated with unwanted sex after controlling for drinking. The IPB "Talking to people who know one's potential dating or sexual partner to find out what s/he is like" significantly moderated the drinking-unwanted sex relationship. At above-average drinking levels, women who used this IPB more frequently reported fewer episodes of unwanted sex.

CONCLUSION:

Findings revealed obtaining information about a potential partner significantly reduced the impact of drinking on unwanted sex for heavier drinkers. Future research examining how women implement this IPB may clarify its role in reducing unwanted sex.

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By:   Sell NM1, Turrisi R2, Scaglione NM3, Hultgren BA3, Mallett KA4.

• 1Department of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, 219 Biobehavioral Health Building, University Park, PA 16802, United States. Electronic address: nms5213@psu.edu.
• 2Department of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, 219 Biobehavioral Health Building, University Park, PA 16802, United States; The Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University, 320 Biobehavioral Health Building, University Park, PA 16802, United States.
• 3Department of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, 219 Biobehavioral Health Building, University Park, PA 16802, United States.
• 4The Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University, 320 Biobehavioral Health Building, University Park, PA 16802, United States.
• Addict Behav. 2015 Dec 8;54:40-45. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.12.003. [Epub ahead of print] 

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Do Sexual Assault Bystander Interventions Change Men's Intentions? Applying the Theory of Normative Social Behavior to Predicting Bystander Outcomes

The high prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses has led to the implementation of health communication programs to prevent sexual assault. A few novel programs focus on primary prevention by targeting social norms related to gender and masculinity among men through bystander intervention. 

Guided by the theory of normative social behavior, this study sought to examine the relative effect of campaigns communicating positive versus negative injunctive norms and the interaction between exposure to such campaign messages and perceived descriptive norms and relevant cognitive moderators (e.g., outcome expectations, injunctive norms, group identity, ego involvement) among men. A 2 (high/low descriptive norms) × 2 (high/low moderator) × 3 (public service announcement) independent groups quasi-experimental design (N = 332) was used. 

Results indicated that messages communicating positive injunctive norms were most effective among men who were least likely to engage in bystander intervention. Furthermore, descriptive norms played a significant role in behavioral intentions, such that those with stronger norms were more likely to report intentions to engage in bystander behaviors in the future. Similarly, the moderators of aspiration, injunctive norms, social approval, and ego involvement had a significant positive effect on behavioral intentions. 

These findings have important implications for future message design strategy and audience segmentation.

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By:   Mabry A1, Turner MM2.

• 1 Department of Advertising and Public Relations , The University of Texas at Austin , Austin , Texas , USA.
• 2 Department of Prevention and Community Health , George Washington University , Washington , DC , USA. 

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Predicting Bystander Behavior to Prevent Sexual Assault on College Campuses: The Role of Self-Efficacy and Intent

Bystander intervention has been increasingly applied to prevent sexual violence on college campuses. Its underlying theory assumes unidirectional relationships between variables, predicting that bystander behaviors (i.e., actions taken to intervene in sexual violence situations) will be influenced by bystander intentions (BI; i.e., likelihood to intervene in the future), which in turn will be affected by bystander efficacy (BE; i.e., confidence to intervene). 

One question for theory is whether a reciprocal relationship exists between BI and BE. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) with longitudinal data to test unidirectional and reciprocal causal relations between BI and BE. Participants (n = 1390) were students at a northeastern US university. 

Four models were examined using SEM: 

1. a baseline model with autoregressive paths; 
2. a model with autoregressive effects and BI predicting future BE; 
3. a model with autoregressive effects and BE predicting future BI; and, 
4. a fully cross-lagged model. 

Results indicated that reciprocal causality was found to occur between BI and BE. In addition, a final model demonstrated indirect effects of a bystander intervention program on bystander behaviors through both BI and BE at different time points. Implications for theory and practice are described, and directions for future research discussed. 

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By: McMahon S1, Peterson NA, Winter SC, Palmer JE, Postmus JL, Koenick RA.

1Center on Violence Against Women and Children, School of Social Work, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

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