Review of Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Programs Targeting U.S. College Students: Characteristics, Efficacy, and Diversity

Background and Purpose: Research has focused on understanding intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and perpetration among college student populations due to the high prevalence among and deleterious effects of these behaviors on individuals aged 18 to 24. Yet, little is known about the effectiveness of IPV college-based prevention programming; much attention has centered on the effectiveness of sexual assault prevention programs. Moreover, existing review studies of IPV programming highlight interventions that raise IPV awareness and overlook the effect of IPV preventive interventions that increase knowledge and skills of healthy intimate relationships. To address these gaps, this study aims to describe available IPV prevention programs targeting U.S. college students with a focus on IPV. Research questions included (1) what are the characteristics of interventions that prevent IPV? (2) what is their effectiveness? and (3) What diverse populations are represented in the interventions?

Methods: The current study conducted a scoping review of N=42 peer-reviewed articles published in the U.S. between 2010 and 2020 by ensuring interrater reliability. Included articles targeted undergraduate college students and intervention studies with a measurable outcome regarding IPV. Databases included PsycINFO, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and beyond. Keywords were kw:(intervention OR education OR training OR prevention OR outcome* OR RCT OR evidence* OR program*) AND kw:(college student* OR undergraduate student* OR young adult*) AND kw:(dating violence OR interpersonal violence OR domestic violence OR intimate partner violence OR healthy relationship OR unhealthy relationship). We excluded an intervention study of sexual assault in the context of non-intimate relationships.

Findings: Regarding the sample and intervention characteristics, on average, participants were 19.9 years of age, white (68.7%), and attended a public college (50%) in the Midwestern region (40.5%) of the US. Over 90% of the interventions were primary preventive interventions focused on IPV, sexual violence, or both; 42.9% used a randomized controlled trial, 14.3% a quasi-experimental, and 42.9% a pre-experimental design. Most interventions were guided by the Bystander theoretical framework (56%), followed by protective factor promotion (19%) and risk factor reduction approach (11.9%). Interventions employed one or two sessions (71%), lasting for 1-2 hours (73%), and small group in-person discussions (71%). Regarding efficacy, all 42 intervention studies reported induced effective outcomes related to students’ knowledge, attitude/belief, efficacy, intention to help, or behavior. Preliminary evidence indicated that healthy intimate relationship promotion and risk factor reduction approaches delivered skill-based content, had more sessions, and induced more behavioral changes than bystander approaches that focused on IPV awareness. Regarding diversity of the study samples, female, white, and heterosexual undergraduate students were overrepresented.

Conclusion: Findings of this review study highlights the importance of implementing skill-based relationship education that promotes knowledge of healthy intimate relationships as a means for addressing IPV among college students. Evaluating the efficacy of healthy relationships skill-based programming with bystander education, which is known as a sound IPV prevention approach, is important for building knowledge regarding effective IPV programming.