A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Adolescent Relationship Abuse Prevention Program Entitled "Coaching Boys Into Men"

Despite the high prevalence of adolescent relationship abuse (ARA) reported among adolescent females and substantial reports of perpetration by young males, effective prevention programs to prevent ARA are limited. Male athletes are an important target for prevention efforts given their higher rates of abuse perpetration compared to non-athlete peers as well as their social influence among their peers. This cluster-randomized school-based investigation examines the effectiveness of a program for the primary prevention of ARA. "Coaching Boys into Men" (CBIM) is a social norms theory-based program intended to alter norms that foster ARA perpetration, promote bystander intervention, and reduce ARA perpetration by engaging athletic coaches as positive role models to deliver violence prevention scripts and tools to high school age male athletes. Coaches receive a 60-minute training session to administer the intervention to their athletes via 11 lessons across a sport season. Trained high school coaches talk to their male athletes about 1) what constitutes disrespectful and harmful vs. respectful behaviors, 2) promoting more gender-equitable attitudes, and 3) modeling bystander intervention when disrespectful behaviors toward women and girls are witnessed. The current investigation evaluates the intervention in 16 urban high schools randomized either to receive the CBIM program (i.e., intervention schools, n=8) or to a control condition (n=8). Baseline computer-based surveys are collected for all intervention and control site student athletes entering grades 9 through 12 at the start of each of three sports seasons across Year 1 (Time 1). Follow up surveys are collected for these same athletes at the end of their first sports season (Time 2). Participating athletes in grades 9 - 11 at baseline are re-surveyed 12 months after Time 1 to examine the longer term effects of the CBIM intervention (Time 3; N of athletes completing all 3 waves of data collection = 1500). Primary assessment of intervention effects are based on intent-to-treat estimates, utilizing generalized linear mixed models to account for clustering arising from school randomization. Hypothesized outcomes for male athletes include a) an increase in recognition of what constitutes abusive behaviors, b) more gender-equitable attitudes, c) an increase in intentions and reports of bystander intervention regarding ARA, and through these intermediate outcomes, d) a decrease in perpetration of ARA among adolescent male athletes.