Development and Preliminary Feasibility Test of a Sexual Violence Prevention Bystander Intervention Program for Youth-Serving Adults

Background and Purpose: Sexual violence (SV) is a continuum of nonconsensual sexual activity that has wide-ranging negative consequences for those who experience it and those who enact it. Sexual harassment, and its precursor homophobic bullying, start very early in adolescence, underscoring the need for effective SV primary prevention strategies that center middle school-aged populations and younger. Bystander interventions are among the most promising SV prevention strategies evaluated to date. However, although emerging research highlights the importance of engaging teachers and youth-serving adults in violence prevention efforts given their role in youth socialization and impact on social norms, programs that teach bystander intervention skills to youth-serving adults have not been emphasized. Teacher Talk is the first online bystander intervention program designed to train adults working with youth ages 11-14 to become upstanders that intervene with and prevent SV among young people. The current presentation will describe Teacher Talk, discuss the development process, and share findings from preliminary feasibility and acceptability testing.

Methods: From 2021-2023, our interdisciplinary team developed the Teacher Talk SV prevention program based on the best available research on bystander intervention and SV prevention among middle school-aged youth. From November 2023-February 2024 following internal testing, we conducted the first program feasibility and acceptability test with 16 youth-serving adults, including K-12 teachers, mental health and interpersonal violence professionals, and other educators. Study participants completed the two-module program; a brief pre- and post-test assessing knowledge and bystander self-efficacy; and a survey that assessed system usability and quality, helpfulness of program components, and thoughts on the program overall. The survey included open-ended questions asking for participant feedback on program strengths and areas for improvement. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyze data.

Results: Overall, participants reported a positive experience with Teacher Talk, found the program’s learning management platform easy to use, and found the content valuable. Out of a maximum score of 100, the average System Usability Scale score was 89.36 (SD = 10.27), demonstrating good usability. Participant ratings overall indicated that the program was time well spent, interactive, up-to-date, and applicable to working with young people. On average, “Key Takeaways” were rated the most helpful program component (4.80 out of 5), with “Knowledge Checks” and “Quizzes” rated least helpful (3.8 out of 5). In open-ended questions, participants noted that they appreciated practicing the “SAFE-T Strategy” taught by Teacher Talk. They also wanted more discussion of youth who cause harm and cyber-harassment. Participants recommended including video testimonies or simulations from the perspectives of youth who experienced harassment and who harassed others and from educators who have successfully intervened in sexual harassment.

Conclusions: Findings support larger-scale Teacher Talk feasibility and acceptability testing and later outcome evaluation. The development and evaluation processes yielded numerous lessons learned about online program development, evaluation tools, and navigating interprofessional partnerships to produce program content. These processes also uncovered opportunities for continued program expansion and refinement that will be shared.