Connecting Through Educational Training: A Pilot of Bystander Training Programming in Sexual Violence and Subtance Abuse

Overview: Incoming students will be invited to participate in a randomized pilot testing bystander program efficacy. Those consenting to study participation will be randomized to one of the three conditions. All students are required to take Online sexual violence, bystander and alcohol awareness training (UK mandated HAVEN + Alcohol Edu). Those consenting to study participation will be randomized to one of three conditions: Green Dot (INT) or Student Wellness skills training (active control) provided by UK Student Affairs staff in the Violence Intervention and Prevention Center or the Student Wellness Office. All students agreeing to study participation will be invited to complete surveys at baseline (prior to training), and at 2-3 months after training and 6 months following training (late April, early May). For this pilot, students will be contacted for participation in November of their first year, we anticipate approximately 1,500 students.

Mandatory (UK) Online Training: Alcohol abuse and violence prevention using bystander approach AlcoholEdu: Confidential substance abuse education course which uses a science-based approach to educate students about alcohol and its effects. Whether the student drinks or not, the course will help them make informed decisions about alcohol and better deal with drinking behavior that may occur around them. AlcoholEdu is used by more than 500 colleges nationwide through EVERFi.

Haven provides students with definitions and statistics associated with sexual assault and relationship violence, bystander skills and strategies, and campus policies and resources. The trainings are "personalized and reflective" and incorporate the student's "unique perspectives and experiences." This 45-minute training is mandatory and students are asked to complete a follow-up survey 45-days after the training. Because this training is mandatory for all incoming students, all students are expected to have exposure to this training.

INT Condition (Randomized): Delivered by UK's Violence Intervention and Prevention (see letter from Director Henry):

Green Dot bystander intervention program (www.livethegreendot.com) Programming: Seeks to empower potential bystanders (students) to actively engage their peers in violence prevention. Intensive bystander training involves interactive, skill development with role-play of bystander behaviors. This program focuses on building knowledge and skills related to interpersonal violence and being an active bystander. There is a structured curriculum for both introductory sessions and longer, skill-building sessions. This is currently provided at UK in classrooms, residence halls, etc. Tailored programming is provided to Greek organizations, Living Learning Communities, faculty/staff, etc. While a Popular Opinion Leader strategy13 has been used in prior training, for this trial all incoming students randomized to this condition will be offered intensive bystander training.