Evaluating Cross-Cutting Prevention at the U.S. Air Force Academy

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Sexual Assault; Alcohol Misuse

• Registration Number: NCT06875284
• Lead Sponsor: RTI International

Brief Summary

Sexual assault and alcohol misuse are interrelated, persist at high rates in military populations, and carry negative consequences for military units and personnel. Combining tailored efforts to prevent sexual assault and alcohol misuse is critical for developing a more effective Force. This study will test the cross-cutting immediate and long-term outcomes of two programs, the Sexual Communication and Consent (SCC) sexual assault prevention program and the eCHECKUP TO GO alcohol misuse prevention program, delivered separately and in combination, with Cadets at the United States Air Force Academy. Anonymous Cadet self-report data will be collected before training (pre-test), immediately after training (post-test), 3 months after training (Fall semester follow-up), and 9 months after training (Spring semester follow-up).

Detailed Description

Sexual assault and alcohol misuse both persist at high rates among military populations. These behaviors interfere with readiness, unit cohesion, mission objectives, and personnel performance and retention. There are demonstrated associations between sexual assault and alcohol misuse for both perpetrators and victims of sexual assault. Therefore, combining efforts to prevent sexual assault and alcohol misuse is critical for more effective and efficient programming. Moreover, tailored prevention programming that addresses individual risks and experiences related to sexual assault and alcohol misuse is likely to be the most effective programming. Unfortunately, to date, no evidence-based cross-cutting interventions have been developed and evaluated for impacts on both sexual assault and alcohol misuse among military populations. Several challenges impede this effort. Sexual assault prevention and alcohol misuse prevention are typically managed in different organizations within military settings, including within Military Service Academies. Training settings face many competing demands for trainees' time and instructor capacity, and instructors' ability to provide both sexual assault-related and alcohol-related training varies widely. Despite the promise of tailored training, individualized programming also presents feasibility challenges in group education settings common to military training. In alignment with the FY21-FY25 DoD Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Research Agenda and DoD's desire to have cross-cutting prevention programs that reduce risk for multiple harmful behaviors, the long-term goal of the proposed work is to address these challenges and provide the military with flexible, engaging, tailored prevention programming that reduces sexual assault and alcohol misuse while minimizing burden on Service members and training settings. To that end, the basic objective of this study is to test the cross-cutting immediate and long-term outcomes of two programs, the Sexual Communication and Consent (SCC) sexual assault prevention program and the eCHECKUP TO GO alcohol misuse prevention program, delivered separately and in combination, with Cadets at the United States Air Force Academy. Anonymous Cadet self-report data will be collected before training (pre-test), immediately after training (post-test), 3 months after training (Fall semester follow-up), and 9 months after training (Spring semester follow-up).

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2022-06-27
• Primary Completion: 2024-05-01
• Study Completion: 2024-05-01
• Status Verified: 2025-03
• Study First Submitted: 2025-03-03
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-03-07
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-03-07
• Study First Posted: 2025-03-13
• Last Update Posted: 2025-03-13

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 2041

Inclusion Criteria

• U.S. Air Force Academy Basic Cadet enrolled in 2022 or 2023 Basic Cadet Training

Exclusion Criteria

• Unable or unwilling to provide informed consent

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Self-reported sexual assault victimization	From pre-test to Spring semester follow-up, an average of 10 months	Participants self-report whether they experienced any type of unwanted sexual contact between Basic Cadet Training and the Spring semester follow-up using a modified version of the Sexual Experiences Survey.
Self-reported sexual assault perpetration	From pre-test to Spring semester follow-up, an average of 10 months	Participants self-report whether they perpetrated any type of unwanted sexual contact between Basic Cadet Training and the Spring semester follow-up using a modified version of the Sexual Experiences Survey.
Self-reported alcohol use	From pre-test to Spring semester follow-up, an average of 10 months	Participants self-report the approximate number of alcoholic drinks they consumed each day of the week during a typical week over the past month (assessed at both the Fall and Spring semester follow-up assessments). Participants who respond with any weekly value greater than 0 alcoholic drinks at either the Fall or Spring semester follow-up are coded as positive for any alcohol use.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Knowledge of sexual assault	From pre-test to post-test, an average of 1 month	The percentage of correct participant responses to 8 true-or-false questions about sexual assault.
Knowledge of effective consent	From pre-test to post-test, an average of 1 month	The percentage of correct participant responses to 7 true-or-false questions about effective sexual consent.
Self-efficacy to resist unwanted sexual advances	From pre-test to post-test, an average of 1 month	A subset of participants rate their degree of confidence in their ability to use certain protective strategies in high-risk situations. Scale scores range 6 to 42, with higher scores indicating greater self-efficacy.
Normative perceptions of peer alcohol use	From pre-test to post-test, an average of 1 month	Participants report how many days in the week they estimate the average Cadet of their same age and gender drinks and how many drinks the average Cadet of their same age and gender consumes per day using a modified version of the Quantity/Frequency/Peak questionnaire. The average number of estimated drinks consumed per drinking day is computed from this data and has a possible score range of 0 to 6 drinks.
Readiness to change alcohol use behavior	From pre-test to post-test, an average of 1 month	Participants self-report their readiness to change their drinking behavior using a single item. The possible item score ranges 0 to 4, with higher scores indicating greater readiness to change.
Dating-related protective strategy use	From pre-test to Spring semester follow-up, an average of 10 months	Participants self-report the degree to which they engaged in behavioral strategies to reduce sexual assault risk using the Dating Self-Protection Against Rape Scale.
Alcohol-related protective strategy use	From pre-test to Spring semester follow-up, an average of 10 months	Participants self-report the degree to which they engaged in behavioral strategies to reduce alcohol-related harms using an adapted version of the Protective Behavioral Strategies Survey.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

United States Air Force Academy; 🇺🇸 Air Force Academy, Colorado, United States