Predictors of Party Safety Bystander Behaviors Among College Students

• In Event: 58.030 - From Start to Finish: A Four-Year Study of College Student Victimization and Bystander Behavior

Abstract

Background
Prevention specialists have promoted the use of a socio-ecological model to inform sexual violence prevention on campus, given that a multi-system approach not only targets potential perpetrators and victims, but also emphasizes the need to engage multiple systems in changing the culture that supports sexual violence (Degue et al., 2012). Building off this model, bystander training and education has been highlighted as a promising prevention strategy (Degue, 2014). McMahon and Banyard (2012) note that there are a number of bystander behaviors that college students can engage in to prevent sexual assault. However, these acts vary terms of risk and immediacy. One set of behaviors is related to party safety, which includes behaviors in which students engage that might protect themselves and others from being in dangerous situations due to alcohol consumption. These behaviors may be particularly important given that alcohol use often precedes sexual assault (Krebs et al., 2016) and unwanted sexual experiences often occur at parties (Banyard et al., 2007). Existing research has examined how gender, greater sense of community (Banyard, 2008), self-efficacy (McMahon et al., 2015), and past sexual assault victimization (Murphy, 2014) are related to bystander behavior. Research has not examined whether party safety behaviors (PSB) change over students’ college careers or the relationship between PSB and college connectedness, binge drinking, and attempted rape. This study addresses these gaps in the literature.

Methods
College students from two universities completed online surveys during their first and fourth years in college (n = 94). Bystander behavior was assessed at both time points using the Party Safety Behaviors Scale (Banyard et al., 2014). One question was used to assess binge drinking in spring 2016: “How often in the past 30 days did you drink 5 or more drinks of alcohol on the same day?” College connectedness was assessed in fourth year using the School Connectedness Scale (SCS; Furlong et al., 2011). In spring 2016, students were asked whether they had ever experienced an attempted rape.

Results
Results indicated that in their fourth year students reported engaging in more party safety behaviors (PSB) than in their first year (paired t-test; t=4.63, p<.0001). Students who indicated a greater number of PSB in their first year reported more PSB in their fourth year (β=.43, p<.01). Greater school connectedness in the fourth year was also related to more party safety behaviors (β=.26, p<.01). Further, students who had experienced an attempted rape reported significantly more PSB (paired t-test; t=-3.99, p<.01). Gender and binge drinking in the fourth year did not predict 2016 PSB. Future analyses will consider whether other substance use indicators (e.g., frequency of drinking) predict PSB.

Significance
This study investigated individual characteristics related to PSB, and responded to a recent call to investigate campus-wide variables (i.e. school connectedness) related to bystander intervention (McMahon, 2015). Better understanding of the predictors of party safety behaviors can inform sexual assault bystander prevention strategies and programs.

Authors

• Chelsey Bowman, Boston University

• Melissa K. Holt, Boston University