Do Certain Factors Predict Fraternity Men's Attitudes and Behaviors about Sexual Violence?

Background and Purpose. Sexual violence on campus is a serious public health problem that impacts students’ physical and psychological well-being. In recent years, bystander interventions, which focus on men and women as bystanders to change social norms in a peer culture that supports abusive behaviors, have been developed to help prevent sexual violence on campus. Some studies have examined the effectiveness of bystander interventions with college populations, but few studies have explored the predictors of attitudes and behaviors about sexual violence among university men participating in bystander prevention programs. The purpose of this study is to determine if certain factors affect outcomes related to attitudes and behaviors about sexual violence.

Methods. A bystander sexual violence prevention program was presented to 142 university fraternity members in 2012. A quasi-experimental design utilizing pre-, post-, and follow-up surveys was used to compare the effectiveness of a bystander sexual violence prevention program with university men who are at low- and high-risk of using sexually coercive behavior in intervention (79 men) and comparison groups (63 men).

Participants’ risk status was measured using the Modified-Sexual Experiences Survey, which assesses self-reported sexually coercive behavior. High-risk status at pretest was determined by at least one admission to a sexually coercive behavior, whereas low-risk men reported no past sexually aggressive behavior. Two outcome measures were used to evaluate changes in attitudes related to rape myth acceptance and bystander attitudes: The Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale – Short Form and The Bystander Attitudes Scale – Revised. Three outcome measures were used to evaluate changes in behaviors related to sexual violence and bystander behavior: The Modified-Sexual Experiences Survey, the Attraction to Sexual Aggression Scale, and the Bystander Behaviors Scale – Revised. Demographic characteristics were also collected.

Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were computed to determine if risk status, ethnicity, or fraternity leadership predicted outcomes related to attitudes and behaviors about sexual violence.  The study received university human subject approval.

Results. The results of this study found that risk status significantly predicted rape myth acceptance (β=.22, p<.05), sexually coercive behaviors (β=.58, p<.001), sexually coercive behavioral intentions (β=.32, p<.001), and bystander attitudes (β=-.18, p<.05), meaning high-risk men fared worse on each of these outcomes when compared to low-risk men. Ethnicity significantly predicted rape myth acceptance (β=-.26, p<.05), bystander attitudes (β=.15, p<.05), and bystander behaviors (β=.45, p<.05), meaning European-Americans fared worse on each of these outcomes when compared to African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and those that identified as “other”. Fraternity leadership significantly predicted (β=.26, p<.05) bystander attitudes, meaning fraternity leaders were more likely to stop their own or someone else’s sexually violent behaviors compared to general fraternity members.

Implications. Since both risk status and ethnicity predicted outcomes related to sexual violence, it is important to focus on determining the effect of programs on both high- and low-risk males and developing culturally relevant bystander interventions. Since fraternity leadership predicted bystander attitudes, it may also be useful to involve fraternity leaders in the implementation of bystander programs with high-risk university men in order to see more positive changes.