Sexual Violence Prevention Education (SVPE) Multisession Evaluation

Background and Purpose: Because college students are at high risk for sexual assault, it is important to examine the effectiveness of sexual violence prevention programs. The university currently offers five programs, including three presentations (Step Up (SU), Living Well (LW) and Frisky Business(FB)) and two online trainings (Consent and Respect(C&R) and Community of Care (COC)). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of sexual violence prevention education programs on the attitudes, knowledge, and behavioral intentions of freshmen students.

Methods: Freshman (N=1,018) from a Southwestern university participated in an anonymous online survey which included demographic information, and three different scales: one true false scale assessing knowledge about sexual assault (KS; α=.71) with questions such as, “a person must be sober to give consent;” one assessing their beliefs about healthy sexual relationships  (HR; α=.94), with questions such as, “Open communication makes sex better;” and one assessing their likelihood to intervene or connect to resources (IR; α=.91) with questions such as, “say no to a sexual act if you uncomfortable with it.” The data was examined to assess program effectiveness.  

Results: An independent samples T-test demonstrated those who participated in C&R only saw improvement on the KS (F(2, 917)= 5.91, p<.01). Those who participated in SU saw improvement on the KS (F(2, 913)=9.14, p<.01) and IR (F(2, 913)= 3.67, p<.05). Those who participated in LW saw improvement on the KS (F(2, 912)=3.24, p<.05) and IR (F(2, 912)=2.88, p<.05). Those who participated in FH saw improvements on KS (F(2, 916)=8.38, p<.000) and IR (F(2, 916)=3.23, p<.05). Those who participated in COC only saw improvements in IR (F(2, 914)=3.81, p<.05). Step Up had the greatest improvement in scores. A cumulative effect analysis demonstrated that to make the greatest improvement in Knowledge, three programs are best, StepUp, Living Well and Frisky Business. To make the greatest improvement in Healthy Relationships, four programs are needed, Community of Care, Consent & Respect, Living Well and Frisky Business. To make the greatest improvement in Intervention/Resources, four programs are needed, Community of Care, Step Up, Living Well and Frisky Business.

Conclusion: Results demonstrate that participation in prevention programs has a positive impact on thoughts and beliefs about sexual assault. However, those who participated in presentations had a positive impact on two dimensions versus only one. Also, it may be more effective to imbed education about sexual assault with other related topics, such as education about healthy relationships and dating violence, such as Living Well. Consent and Respect is the only program that was only about sexual assault and only had an impact on students’ level of knowledge. The best overall program in terms of improving scores was Step Up, an intervention program that seeks to improve a students’ willingness to ensure the safety of their peers in multiple circumstances; again, the focus was not simply on sexual assault. This study also demonstrates that multiple programs are needed to make an in-depth impact on students’ knowledge, attitude toward healthy sexual relationships and their willingness to intervene.