Banyard, V. L. (2011).

Who will help prevent sexual violence: Creating an ecological model of

bystander intervention. Psychology of Violence, 1(3), 216-229. doi:10.1037/a0023739
Banyard uses ecological models to highlight key elements that may inhibit or assist in the
facilitation of bystander intervention behaviors. To be specific, Banyard uses
Bronfenbrenner (1977, 2005) concepts of context as a lens to view bystander intervention
behavior. For example, Banyard discusses Bronfenbrenners microsystem to discuss how
helping behaviors are impacted by ones immediate surrounding and how phenomena like
audience inhibition (fear of embarrassment) may prohibit oneself from engaging in
helping behaviors. In terms of exosystem and macrosystem, Banyard notes that little
research conducted on bystander intervention at the exosystem (settings not directly
tangible to the individual but can still exert influence) and the marcrosystem (patterns of
stability at the cultural or subcultural level). However, Banyard notes its significance
through a story of an assault that happened on her own campus. The friends of a man who
was physically assaulted on campus created a Facebook page to gather information about
the perpetrator, of which many people from both campus and abroad joined.
Banyard also uses Bronfenbrenner's concepts of time and process to discuss bystander
intervention. For instance, Banyard relates Bronfenbrenner's concept of process to expose
the non-linear helping process. Should an individual as a bystander help another
individual, this event ripples across the ecological model. Individually, this affects the
perception of events and inclination to be an active bystander again while onlookers
(peers) may observe the action in progress and rethink their ability to intervene at another
time. In terms of time, Banyard discusses the evolution of helping behavior over time
(such as trends in age of active bystanders) and change over time in ecosystems (such as

societal views evolving from endorsing victim-blaming' to considering victim

viewpoints).
Comments: It is always exciting to see theory from class included in my independent
study. One of my main inspiration for doing an independent study on violence prevention
was considering violence from an ecological lens and using Bronfenbrenner was
particularly illuminating. However, trepidation is invoked when considering studying or
researching such large and complex systems.

Banyard, V. L., & Moynihan, M. M. (2011). Variation in bystander behavior related to sexual and
intimate partner violence prevention: Correlates in a sample of college students.
Psychology of Violence, 1(4), 287-301. doi:10.1037/a0023544
In this study, researchers aimed to understand what motivates active bystanders to help
others by examining self-reported helping behavior and attitudes regarding sexual assault
prevention and intimate partner violence prevention among college students. Researchers
in this study surveyed 406 undergraduate students at a midsize public university in the
northeast region of the United States. The survey contained many measures to identify
peer support norms, rape myth acceptance, bystander confidence, bystander intention to
help, responsibility, denial, decision-making, and overall bystander behavior. When
analyzing the data, researchers attempted to find subtypes of bystander behavior by
correlating the data with participant variables such as gender and age. Ultimately, the
researchers found that bystander behavior can be categorized into the following sub
groups: Overall sexual violence and intimate partner violence-specific bystander

intervention, party safety behaviors, helping a friend in distress, and confronting language
related to sexual violence.
Banyard, V. L., Moynihan, M. M., & Plante, E. G. (2007). Sexual violence prevention through
bystander education: An experimental evaluation. Journal of Community Psychology,
35(4), 463-481. doi:10.1002/jcop.20159
This study intended to evaluate the effectiveness of a sexual violence prevention program in its
ability to engage attendees to prevent "red flags" that made lead to sexual violence. In
single-sex groups, undergraduate student participants with no sexual assault prevention
program experience attended either (a) no program (b) a one-session prevention program
or (c) a three-session prevention program. Using pre-tests and post-tests, researchers
sought to observe if members of either program would show an increase in knowledge,
attitude, and behaviors at post-test as opposed to those in the control group. They also
hypothesized would be effective for both men and women. Hypothesis I was confirmed,
in that students in either of the programs showed improvement along sexual violence
knowledge, rape myth acceptance, and bystander attitudes. At each stage of post-test (2month, 4-month, 12-month) showed minimal diminishing effects regardless of what
program was attended. Hypothesis II was also confirmed, though women were found to
have higher sexual violence knowledge and lower reported rape myth acceptance at pretest.

Comments: Again, this research begins to be the foundation upon which much of

violence prevention efforts involving bystander intervention is founded upon. While it

seems as though bystander intervention has been a topic of study for quite some time, it
seems the revolution of thought regarding primary prevention (prevention of violence
before it occurs) seems to have occurred in the early 2000s.

Burn, S. M. (2009). A situational model of sexual assault prevention through bystander

intervention. Sex Roles, 60(11), 779-792. doi:10.1007/s11199-008-9581-5
In this study, Burn uses Latane and Darley's (1970) foundational model of a five-step helping
process in order to validate whether a situational model of sexual assault prevention via
bystander intervention can be created. The study administered a survey wherein male and
female participants responded to the Latane and Darley's hypothesized barriers to helping
behaviors within the context of sexual assault: failure to notice, failure to identify
situation, failure to take responsibility for intervening, failure to intervene due to a skills
deficit, and failure to intervene due to audience inhibition. The responses indicated that
the situational model for bystander intervention applies to sexual assault prevention.
Further, the study confirmed that bystander intervention behaviors decrease if the
potential victim is determined to have made choices that placed them at greater risk of
sexual assault, such as drinking heavily. Though not always reflected in similar research,
this study found that both men and women believed knowing the victim would increase
their willingness to intervene.

Comments: Being published in 2009, this study seems a tad belated for sexual assault prevention
research using bystander intervention practices. Could this study be considered the

foundational base for many bystander intervention programs? In correlation, when were
nationwide bystander intervention programs such as Green Dot created? After reading
this study, it feels as though affirming bystander intervention as a possible option in
reducing sexual violence on college campuses is overdue.
Cares, A. C., Banyard, V. L., Moynihan, M. M., Williams, L. M., Potter, S. J., & Stapleton, J. G.
(2015). Changing attitudes about being a bystander to violence: Translating an in-person
sexual violence prevention program to a new campus. Violence Against Women, 21(2),
165-187. doi:10.1177/1077801214564681
The researchers in this study aimed to determine how effective the Bringing in the
Bystander sexual violence prevention program at training first-year students at two
different campuses. Campus 1 is identified as a rural and residential location, whereas
Campus 2 is best described as urban and containing higher proportions of ethnic and
racial diversity. Each are mid-sized institutions located in the New England region of the
United States. Researchers administered a pretest, posttest, and a 12-month follow-up
survey to determine how first-year student attitudes change. The study found numerous
significant findings. Measures to determine effectiveness included social desirability, rape
myth acceptance, attraction to sexual violence, readiness to help, bystander efficacy,
intent to help, and more. The researchers found that significant differences were found
between Campus 1 and Campus 2, illustrating how external variables can impact how the
program translates to a campus. For instance, Campus 2 saw greater effectiveness for
women than Campus 1, which the researchers attribute to Campus 2s primarily male
student population. The researchers also suspected that the program was less effective at

Campus 2 due to the bystander prevention message succumbing to the larger campus
climate.
Coker, A. L., Bush, H. M., Fisher, B. S., Swan, S. C., Williams, C. M., Clear, E. R., & DeGue, S.
(2016). Multi-college bystander intervention evaluation for violence prevention.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 50(3), 295-302.
doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2015.08.034
First-year students at three universities of similar characteristics were administered online
surveys regarding their experiences with sexual violence over the course of four years.
One university had implemented the Green Dot bystander intervention program on its
campus while the other two universities had not. As hypothesized, the Intervention
campus reported significantly lower rates of violence victimization in the following
categories: unwanted sex, sexual harassment, and psychological dating violence.
Researchers found a 17% reduction of interpersonal violence at the Intervention campus
overall, along with a 21% reduction in the perpetrating of interpersonal violence. The
Intervention campus also maintained a lower rate of interpersonal violence victimization
and perpetration each year when compared to the Comparison campuses. The researchers
ultimately suggested that the results of the study showed the efficacy of the Green Dot
program on a college campus. However, it should be noted that response rates at the
Intervention campus were significantly lower than at the Comparison campuses.

Jaime, M. C. D., McCauley, H. L., Tancredi, D. J., Nettiksimmons, J., Decker, M. R., Silverman,
J. G.. . Miller, E. (2015;2014;). Athletic coaches as violence prevention advocates.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30(7), 1090-1111. doi:10.1177/0886260514539847

In this study, 16 high school coaches participated in an adolescent relationship

abuse/sexual violence prevention program aimed to encourage bystander intervention
behavior in athletes and reduce violence. In the Coaching Boys Into Men (CBIC)
program, coaches are identified as positive role models who are called upon to deliver
short scripted discussions with their students throughout their athletic season involving
topics such as respect and sexual consent. After participation, CBIC was evaluated using
both quantitative and qualitative methods. Coaches filled out a survey based on their
experiences in the CBIC program compared to the control group of coaches. Intervention
coaches witnessed less abusive behaviors among their athletes when compared to the
control group and reported more discussions with their athletes about physical and sexual
violence on and off the field. Qualitatively, intervention coaches were interviewed based
on their experiences and reported changes in athlete attitude and behavior along with
changes in their own perspective on violence and their ability to be a role model.
Comments: Although this study focuses on high school students, I see no reason that such
a program could not succeed in college athletics. Adjustments would need to be made
based on student development theory, along with the age of the students.
Krivoshey, M. S., Adkins, R., Hayes, R., Nemeth, J. M., & Klein, E. G. (2013). Sexual assault
reporting procedures at Ohio colleges. Journal of American College Health, 61(3), 142147. doi:10.1080/07448481.2013.769260
In this article, researchers analyzed evidence of Ohio colleges and universities
conforming or failing to conform to recommendations that have the potential to increase
rates of sexual assault reporting. The researchers provide many recommendations for the
facilitation of increased sexual assault reporting on college campuses: a clear sexual

assault policy, a visual or verbal representation of the reporting procedure, an on-campus

representative equipped to receive sexual assault reports beyond the police, and a thirdparty reporting option that maintains anonymity. Using each Ohio college and
universities search engine, the researchers coded on 3-stages: searching a college website
using the term sexual assault, searching the student handbook using sexual assault,
safety, or crime, or searching the terms safety and crime on a college website.
Each campus was analyzed and evaluated for (a) a publicly available sexual assault
policy (b) reporting procedure (c) existence of a 24/7 reporting procedure (d) third-party
reporting options (e) a policy explicitly maintaining confidentiality or efforts to maintain
confidentiality for a victim (f) a reporting procedure that allowed anonymity. There were
various findings of the study. Ohio colleges and universities used varied definitions and
terms to discuss sexual violence. Of the 105 colleges, roughly two-thirds had a publicly
available sexual assault policy. Less than a quarter of Ohio colleges and universities
provided a 24/7 reporting procedure for victims of sexual assault. Interestingly, less than
1% of colleges allowed for anonymous reporting on their campus although 13% of
colleges had a third-party option for reporting a sexual assault.
Comments: It must be noted that bystander intervention may include helping an individual after
violence has occurred. Having institutional policy and procedure in place that responds to
the needs of victims of sexual assault must be a priority. With new federal mandates on
sexual assault policies, I wonder how this has affected colleges and universities today.
Would there be greater third-party options for students? Is there a spectrum of reporting
procedures beyond the police? How are community partners of universities and colleges
involved? In this study, I also detected something similar to a multicultural organization

development lens. The researchers examined organizational policy and procedures by

using previous studies to determine best practices for sexual assault reporting. Could a
culture of sexual violence be a viable use of MCIM?

McMahon, S., Postmus, J. L., & Koenick, R. A. (2011). Conceptualizing the engaging bystander
approach to sexual violence prevention on college campuses. Journal of College Student
Development, 52(1), 115-130. doi:10.1353/csd.2011.0002
In this exploratory study, researchers attempt to establish bystander intervention as a means to
address primary prevention, or bystander behaviors that intercept problematic behavior or
warning signs before a potentially violent or dangerous act can occur. The researchers
title this approach the "engaging bystanders approach." Acknowledging that there is a
continuum of violence, not simply "rape" or "sexual assault," the researchers surveyed
approximately 1,000 undergraduate students using the Bystander Behavior Scale, Revised
(BBS-R) and the Bystander Attitude Scale, Revised. A great deal of emphasis is placed on
making survey instruments relatable to the population (i.e. using "women" to describe
female students on campus would create disconnect among students). In doing so, the
researchers claim they will be better able to establish primary prevention efforts that
students can engage in to prevent violence before it occurs. The study found that, along
the continuum of violence, students were more likely to engage in bystander behaviors
that intercept physical or sexual violence but much less likely to challenge sexist
language or refrain from using sexist language. Also of note was the lack of significant
difference in bystander attitude and behaviors among students that had previously

received rape education and students that had not.

Comments: Im almost positive that this research informed the Bringing in the Bystander
program that is now used on campus nationwide. The recognition of the continuum of
violence is a central theme of the program, making it unique to that of the Green Dot
program. Bringing in the Bystander notes that all violence on the continuum of violence,
from sexist language to sexual assault, is wrong and should be challenged. Green Dot, on
the other hand, simply seeks to educate students about behaviors that can prevent sexual
assault or interpersonal violence before a violent act can take place.
McMahon, S., Postmus, J. L., Warrener, C., & Koenick, R. A. (2014). Utilizing peer education
theater for the primary prevention of sexual violence on college campuses. Journal of
College Student Development, 55(1), 78-85.
This study sought to examine how peer education theater designed to educate first-year
college students on sexual assault and bystander intervention efforts affected rape myth
acceptance and student attitudes regarding bystander intervention. Additionally, this study
sought to examine whether there were differences in attitudes and belief related to
demographic characteristics such as race and gender. Students were given a pre-test
before viewing a peer education skit titled SCREAM followed by a post-test 3 weeks
later. The study found that there were significant differences in both rape myth
acceptance and bystander attitude after viewing the performance, noting a decrease in
rape myth acceptance and an increase in positive attitudes. The second hypothesis was
failed - there were no significant differences found between demographics groups.

However, the researchers noted that there was not enough variability in ethnicity (p.
82) which lead to a meaningless analysis.
Comment: Of the articles Ive read, few and far between address (let alone investigate)
how bystander intervention efforts affect demographic groups along social identities of
race. Unfortunately, there was simply a lack of diversity at this institution to be able to
conduct a meaningful analysis. This leads me to believe that there should be a qualitative
study using focus groups in order to learn how bystander intervention efforts diffuse
through student communities of color. More research is desperately needed.
Meilman, P. W., & Haygood-Jackson, D. (1996). Data on sexual assault from the first 2 years of
a comprehensive campus prevention program. Journal of American College Health,
44(4), 157-165. doi:10.1080/07448481.1996.9937523
In this study, researchers analyzed the incident reporting forms submitted to the sexual assault
response coordinator at a mid-size public university in the mid-Atlantic region between
1991 and 1993. Using this data, researchers analyzed trends in this institution's reports.
Of the sixty-five incidents reported, forty-three included rape, eighteen included sexual
assault, and four cases were reports in which the nature of the assault was unclear. The
researchers found five main trends in regard to date, lack of consent, relationship to
assailant, location, and the victim's class year. First, 84% of the reported rape cases had
occurred on a weekend as opposed to the roughly half of the reported sexual assaults.
Second, nearly 40% of the reported rape cases involved an incapacity to provide consent
due to intoxication. Even more concerning, 90% of the rape cases indicated that the
victim knew the attacker, whereas about 60% of the sexual assault cases acknowledged
that the victim knew the assailant. In terms of location, roughly half of the reports

indicated that the sexual assault had occurred on campus. Finally, first-year students and
sophomores were overly represented in terms of rape incidence.

Comments: The discussion section of this study, I believe, does not always contain
substantiated claims. However, this article does help provide a history of sexual
assault research. For example, one claim made by the researchers suggest that
because only 10% of sexual assault claims included alcohol, women simply need
to be more assertive. Perhaps the same amount of research regarding sexual
assault was not available yet, but this type of language would likely be frowned
upon by the academic community.
Sanday, P. R. (1996). Rape-prone versus rape-free campus cultures. Violence Against Women,
2(2), 191-208. doi:10.1177/1077801296002002006
In this article, Sanday examines the preponderance of sexual assault on college
campuses through an anthropological lens. To be exact, Sanday makes a distinction
between rape-prone campus cultures and rape-free campus cultures based on previous
work investigating sexual ideologies tribal societies. Rape-prone cultures are best
identified as environments where sexual aggression is freely expressed against women.
Common characteristics of rape-prone cultures include phallocentrism, peer-encouraged
sexual assault, and hypermasculinity founded upon homophobia and misogyny. Rape-free
societies, on the other hand, are cultures where sexual aggression is highly frowned upon
and punished severely. Other characteristics of rape-free societies include ceremonial
importance of women (p. 201), a mutual respect of womens contribution to society, and
an equal sharing of power between men and women. Sanday concludes the article by

acknowledging that a rape-free campus is easy to imagine, but hard to find (p. 203), but
gives evidence of one fraternity that has taken active steps to create a campus
environment void of sexism, homophobia, and racism.
Schwartz, M. D., & Nogrady, C. A. (1996). Fraternity membership, rape myths, and sexual
aggression on a college campus. Violence Against Women, 2(2), 148-162.
doi:10.1177/1077801296002002003
In this study, researchers surveyed male college students on topics such as rape myths, alcohol,
and peer group influence at a large Midwestern university with a high concentration of
fraternity membership. Of the 119 completed surveys, 22% of the subjects identified
themselves as belonging to a fraternity. Researchers found that their first hypothesis was
rejected: fraternity men when compared to other male college students are not more
likely to adhere to rape myths. Additionally, researchers note that there are fraternities in
the United States that engage in sexually coercive behaviors aimed at women. Yet, in this
study fraternity membership was not helpful in explaining these behaviors, thus rejecting
the researchers' second hypothesis. The researchers conclude that the peer support
systems and environment that facilitates the exhibition of sexual aggression towards
women by male college students may not be found solely in fraternities. Ultimately, the
researchers suggest that adequate attention is paid to examining fraternities and other
prominent male peer groups on college campuses when considering sexual assault on
college campuses.

Shorey, R. C., Zucosky, H., Brasfield, H., Febres, J., Cornelius, T. L., Sage, C., & Stuart, G. L.
(2012). Dating violence prevention programming: Directions for future interventions.
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17(4), 289-296. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2012.03.001
This article briefly overviews the history of dating violence on college campuses and outlines
possible new directions for dating violence prevention programs that deserve further
research. The authors discuss the following research topics: brief motivational
interventions, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), mindfulness interventions, bystander
interventions, and interventions for psychological aggression. Motivational intervention
involves motivational interviewing as an empathetic approach to changing individual
behavior while supporting a subject's own self-efficacy. DBT is identified as requiring
more research as this form of therapy typically used for treating individuals with
Borderline Personality Disorder could potentially benefit aggressors in relationships who
often share similar symptoms with BPD patients, such as emotional dysregulation. The
authors explain mindfulness-based interventions exist as a possible dating violence
prevention tool because of its potential to reduce stress that may lead to physical or
sexual aggression. According to the authors, interventions for psychological aggression
requires more research as it is unknown if dating violence programs with this sole focus
currently exist. The authors end the article by outlining the following factors to consider
when developing a dating violence prevention program: Gender(male/female
differences), couples (direct dating dyad intervention), and targets of intervention (is the
program designated for targets of intervention, previous perpetrators, or for universal
prevention?).

Comments: These new directions for dating violence prevention are helpful in delineating
the spectrum of choices student affairs professionals can use to address dating violence.
However, the content involved would suggest that partnering with a psychologist or
clinical therapist would be key to its success. Motivational interviewing and DBT, for
example, are the areas of expertise for psychologists and social workers.

Ullman, S. E., Karabatsos, G., & Koss, M. P. (1999). Alcohol and sexual assault in a national
sample of college women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14(6), 603-625.
doi:10.1177/088626099014006003
In this study, researchers surveyed a national sample of female college students on their
experiences with alcohol and sexual assault. The study received a 98.5% response rate,
with 3,187 female college students surveyed. For this study, sexual assault was defined as
a spectrum of behaviors from sexual contact and coercion to more severe forms of sexual
victimizations such as attempted and completed rape. The results of the study had many
significant findings. More than half (54.2%) of students were found to have experienced
sexual victimization. Researchers found that alcohol use by both offender and victim was
directly related to more severe sexual victimization. However, offender aggression was
more highly associated with more severe sexual victimization than alcohol use, thereby
encouraging researchers to suggest that alcohol does not have a disinhibiting effect on
offender aggression.

Comments: On a personal note, it is unsurprising that much of sexual assault prevention

programming included an alcohol education piece that encourages women to monitor
their alcohol intake or avoids the substance altogether.