The study was unique because it examined a wide variety of outcomes and explored the impact of several program factors on program effectiveness. Meta-analyses were conducted with 69 studies and 102 treatment interventions. The results showed that sexual assault programs influenced the most positive change in rape knowledge. The programs had a small, but positive influence on rape attitudes. They had a smaller impact on behavioral intentions, rape-related attitudes, and incidence of sexual assault and no impact on rape empathy and rape awareness behaviors. Several factors were associated with program effectiveness including length of the intervention, type of presenter, program content, type of audience, and gender of audience. Implications for practice and research are presented.
These summaries were written by SVPEP staff and are based on original papers published within the last 6 years. The information available on this web site is provided as a public service and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the Arizona Department of Health Services, or the University of Arizona. To conduct an individual search or locate older articles use the Search Summary Database which includes over 600 articles related to sexual violence.
Curriculum
Anderson, L. A., & Whiston, S. C. (2005). Sexual assault education programs: A meta-analytic examination of their effectiveness. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29, 374-388.
Ball, B., Kerig, P. K., & Rosenbluth, B. (2009). “Like a family but better because you can actually trust each other”: The expect respect dating violence prevention program for at-risk youth. Health Promotion Practice, 10, 45S-58S.
This article examined the support group component of the Expect Respect Dating Violence Prevention Program. In 2004-2005, interviews were conducted with 10 support groups in public middle school, high school, and juvenile detention settings. Interviews consisted of questions regarding aspects of the program the participants considered the most meaningful and changes in personal relationships, knowledge and attitudes, skills, and self-awareness. Most findings were consistent across groups regardless of gender, age, facilitator, or setting. Participants reported that group norms including confidentiality, respect, and emotional honesty made it easier to share experiences and emotions within a group setting. Positive relationships with group members, rather than the curriculum itself, was reported to be the most important and memorable part of the program for participants. In public schools settings, boys reported improved communication and recognition of their own abusive behaviors; girls reported an increased assertiveness and expectation to be treated well. Boys in juvenile detention reported the most change in attitudes and norms.
Qualitative methodology was used and lacks generalizability to all program participants.
Hollander, J. A. (2005). Challenging despair: Teaching about women’s resistance to violence. Violence Against Women, 11, 776-791.
Hollander presents a discussion of specific readings as well as a discussion of the use of guest speakers and particular course assignments designed to integrate the theme of resistance into a course about violence against women. The purpose of this approach is to teach women about violence by focusing on resistance, thereby reducing fear, vulnerability, and despair that otherwise serve only to disempower women.
Kelly, P. J., Lesser, J., Cheng, A., Oscos-Sanchez, M., Martinez, E., Pineda, D., & Mancha, J. (2010). A prospective randomized controlled trial of an interpersonal violence prevention program with a Mexican American community. Family & Community Health, 33, 207-215.
This study examined the effects of El Joven Noble, a gender-based social bond theory intervention, on violence related attitudes among 31 students in a predominately Mexican American community in South Texas. El Joven Noble was originally designed for high-risk males in Latino communities in California. The curriculum consists of 10 sessions implemented weekly during an after school program. Findings indicated no significant differences between the intervention and control groups. High-risk students in the intervention group reported changes in non-violence self-efficacy scores post intervention and 3 months post intervention. El Joven Noble showed secondary violence prevention effects, but not primary prevention effects. Community participation helps programs address discrimination, historical context of the impact of oppression, and intergenerational trauma.
Students had negative attitudes towards gangs and high violence self-efficacy at baseline which makes it difficult to show changes as a result of the intervention. Adaptation of the program may not be suitable for other racial/ethnic communities.
Kerig, P. K., Volz, A. R., Moeddel, M. A., & Cuellar, R. E. (2010). Implementing dating violence prevention programs with flexibility, fidelity, and sensitivity to diversity: Lessons learned from Expect Respect. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 19, 661-680.
This paper reviews how dating violence prevention programs address diversity and presents strategies to increase the flexibility, creativity, and adaptability of prevention programs by providing lessons learned through the implementation of the Expect Respect program. Expect Respect is a school-based program designed to prevent dating and sexual violence and increase health relationships among adolescents. Aspects of diversity examined included: ethnicity, social, class, rural-urban cultures, gender, age, and developmental level. Universal versus targeted interventions for at-risk youth are discussed. Information on dissemination of empirically validated programs and dissemination strategies i.e., websites and discussions rooms) are provided.
The review compares lessons learned from only the Expect Respect program to few other programs targeted at youth.
Kisiel, C., Blaustein, M., Spinazzola, J., Schmidt, C. S., Zucker, M., & van der Kolk, B. (2006). Evaluation of a theater-based youth violence prevention program for elementary school children. Journal of School Violence, 5, 19-36.
Four classrooms of fourth-grade students (n=77) participated in Urban Improv (UI), a youth violence prevention program incorporating theater and education. The program consisted of nine weekly sessions, and incorporated experiential learning and discussion. Students in participating classrooms were compared with students in four classrooms that did not participate in UI (controls: n=63). Students and teachers completed pre- and post-program evaluations. Students completed self-report on measures on their social skills, problem behaviors, coping style, and attitudes and beliefs about aggression. Teachers reported on their students’ demonstration of pro-social skills (cooperation, self-control, and assertiveness) and problem behaviors. Though student self-reports did not indicate changes between pre- and post-tests, teacher post-program assessments showed significant positive differences between participants and controls. Participants were found to maintain baseline levels of aggression, while controls’ aggressive behavior increased. Pro-social behaviors increased in the participant group and decreased in the control group. Additionally, students who participated in the program showed an improvement in attention/ engagement behaviors, while non-participants showed a decrease in those behaviors.
Klaw, E. L., Lonsway, K. A., Berg, D. R., Waldo, C. R., Kothari, C., Mazurek, C. J., & Hegeman, K. E. (2005). Challenging rape culture: Awareness, emotion and action through campus acquaintance rape education. Women & Therapy, 28, 47-63.
The Campus Acquaintance Rape Education (CARE) program is based on a feminist perspective, emphasizing the role of gender inequality in sexual violence. Students enrolled in the course are trained to facilitate rape education workshops on campus. The data sources consisted of focus group discussions and reaction papers written by CARE students. Using content analysis, the authors identified three themes related to the effects of the CARE course: 1) increased rape consciousness, 2) emotional reactions to the course material, and 3) increased skills and activism. Unique reactions by men, women, and female survivors were documented. The authors conclude with suggestions for rape education programs and related research.
Lee, D.S., Guy, L., Perry, B., Sniffen, C.K., & Mixson, S.A. (2007). Sexual violence prevention. The Prevention Researcher, 14, 15-20.
The authors reviewed the feminist theoretical basis for sexual violence prevention programs, which states that cultural norms and unequal gender roles lead inevitably to violence against women. They argue that education efforts that address attitudes about gender roles and seek to build relationship skills can be made more effective by incorporating them into comprehensive and community change models. Several comprehensive programs developed using the Ecological Model and the Spectrum of Prevention model are described. Examples of programs based on community mobilization, changing social norms, and social marketing illustrate community level prevention strategies. The importance of promoting policy changes at local and national levels is emphasized. Finally, the authors call for more funding and research into cultural causes of and responses to sexual violence.
Webb, T., Martin, K., Afifi, A. A., & Kraus, J. (2009). Media literacy as a violence-prevention strategy: A pilot evaluation. Health Promotion Practice, online.
The purpose of the pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of doing a full-scale evaluation of the effectiveness of Beyond Blame, an 8 lesson curriculum that addressed youth violence. In 2005, 3 middle schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District participated in the intervention and 1 school was the control. A majority of the students were Hispanic (61.8%). Results indicated that intervention group increased knowledge of media violence but no significant changes were documented in attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs. Concerns about the literacy level of curriculum were reported.
Conclusions about the effectiveness of the curriculum can not be drawn because the purpose of the study was to determine the feasibility of conducting a full-scale intervention.
Weist, M. D., Bryant, Y. U., Dantzler, J., Martin, S., D’Amico, M., Griffith, B., & Gallun, B. (2009). Evaluation of a statewide initiative in the United States to prevent/reduce sexual harassment in schools. Health Education, 109, 112-124.
This paper sought to identify best practices in school-based sexual violence prevention programs by evaluating the Sexual Harassment/Assault Prevention Project (SHAPP). Evaluation of this program consisted of 3 phases: review of curricula used by participating communities, survey of school personnel on best practices and challenges, and a comparison between a SHAPP middle school and comparable middle school not involved in the prevention initiative. Findings suggested that the school who participated in the SHAPP program reported a more positive school climate, increased sense of safety, and decreased incidents of sexual harassment/assault and bullying.
Program evaluation was limited to two schools. There were several demographic differences between the school that received the intervention (SHAPP) and the school that did not.
Wolfe, D. A., Crooks, C., Jaffe, P., Chiodo, D., Hughes, R., Ellis, W., et al. (2009). A school-based program to prevent adolescent dating violence. A cluster randomized trial. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 163, 692-699.
The purpose of this study was to determine if an interactive curriculum that integrated dating violence prevention with lessons on healthy relationships, sexual health, and substance use reduced PDV 2.5 years later among 1, 722 students in Ontario, Canada. The secondary purpose of the study was to reduce risk behaviors of peer violence, substance use, and condom use. In 2004, schools were randomly assigned to intervention or control groups and the program was implemented among 9th grade students. Findings indicated: by the end of 11th grade PDV increased for all students from approximately 1% to 8%, PDV was higher for students in control group (9%) than the intervention group (7%), the effect of the intervention was different between boys and girls. No significant differences between the groups were reported for physical peer violence, substance use, or condom use. Authors suggested that methods developed for single-focused interventions can be combined from a core relationship perspective and teachers with training can implement evidenced-based prevention programs.
Dating violence was limited to physical acts and did not include sexual violence or coercion.
Wolfe, D. A., Wekerle, C., Scott, K., Straatman, A. L., Grasley, C., & Reitzel-Jaffe, D. (2003). Dating violence prevention with at-risk youth: A controlled outcome evaluation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 279-291.
A community-based dating violence intervention was provided to 158 teens with histories of child maltreatment between 14 and 16 years old. The youth were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. The intervention group received education about healthy and abusive relationships, conflict resolution, communication skills, and social action activities. Findings indicated that youth in the intervention group were less likely to physically abuse dating partners. Those in the intervention group also reported less physical, emotional, and threatening forms of abuse by partners toward themselves. Authors suggested that interventions should focus on social norms, social resistance skills, and self-control strategies to reduce risk behaviors.
Results may have been influenced by non-experimental factors such as greater awareness of behaviors and increased self-monitoring.