The Efficacy of the SUN Program in Adolescents

NCT06830278 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: SUN-2024-EC
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 231
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This research project will develop, deliver, and evaluate a new school-based sexual violence prevention program for high-school adolescents. The SUN program (Stand Up Now against sexual violence) aims to prevent the occurrence of sexual violence among adolescents. The program approaches sexual violence as a complex phenomenon which occurs in many contexts throughout life. This program approaches specific concepts associated with sexual violence, such as sexual consent, while acknowledging the association between this form of violence and other violent phenomena. The program uses a bystander approach to support adolescents in the development of bystander attitudes and behaviors, which can be used in situations where the risk of sexual violence may be present. These may include behaviors such as confronting someone who is trying to take advantage of another person or reporting someone who committed sexual violence. The program aims to reduce myths associated with sexual violence, to increase empathy in this context and to improve bystander skills. Program sessions will combine group discussions with skills-building exercises. This study will apply the SUN program in school settings and compare the adolescents who will take part in the program with adolescents who will not. The study will evaluate changes in sexual violence myths, sexism, empathy, and bystander attitudes and behaviors. The authors hypothesize that by decreasing myths associated with sexual violence and sexism, and by increasing empathy in this context, the program will be able to increase the adolescents' capacity to intervene in real-world situations to prevent sexual violence (i.e., bystander attitudes and behaviors). Additionally, the programs' acceptability will be assessed through focus groups conducted with students. It is expected that this project will improve scientific knowledge regarding sexual violence prevention.

Conditions

Sexual Violence

Keywords

Adolescents; Bystanders; Prevention; Psychoeducation; Sexual Violence; School settings; Skills training

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Bystander attitudes

  Bystander attitudes - Bystander Attitude Scale-Revised (BAS-R) The Bystander Attitude Scale-Revised (modified version) is a self-report survey that measures bystander attitudes using 19 items (McMahon et al., 2014). This study uses a recent adaptation of this scale into Portuguese for adolescents, using only 13 items (in preparation for publication). The scale uses several items that capture a diverse range of bystander behaviors in terms of low and high risk of violence, timing of the intervention and proactive or reactive behaviors. An item example would be: "Report a friend to the police if I heard rumors that they had forced someone to have sex". In this survey, participants are asked to rate how acceptable a behavior is for them (i.e., whether they are favorable to that behavior) on a Likert scale from 1 (not acceptable) to 5 (extremely acceptable) (McMahon et al., 2014).

  All primary outcome measures will be assessed at baseline (1 week before the first session of the SUN), post-test (1 week after the last session of the SUN), and three, six and nine months after pos-test (follow-up assessments).

• Bystander behaviours - Bystander Behavior Scale-Revised (BBS-R)

  The Bystander Behavior Scale-Revised (modified version) is a self-report survey similar to the BAS-R but which measures bystander behavior. Items are the same but participants are asked to report whether they have had those behaviors in the previous year (scale: "Yes", "No", "I wasn't in that situation") (McMahon et al., 2014).

  All primary outcome measures will be assessed at baseline (1 week before the first session of the SUN), post-test (1 week after the last session of the SUN), and three, six and nine months after pos-test (follow-up assessments).

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Empathy

  All secondary outcome measures will be assessed at baseline (1 week before the first session of the SUN), post-test (1 week after the last session of the SUN), and three, six and nine months after pos-test (follow-up assessments).

• Sexual violence myths

  All secondary outcome measures will be assessed at baseline (1 week before the first session of the SUN), post-test (1 week after the last session of the SUN), and three, six and nine months after pos-test (follow-up assessments).

• Sexism

  All secondary outcome measures will be assessed at baseline (1 week before the first session of the SUN), post-test (1 week after the last session of the SUN), and three, six and nine months after pos-test (follow-up assessments).

• Social Desirability

  All secondary outcome measures will be assessed at baseline (1 week before the first session of the SUN), post-test (1 week after the last session of the SUN), and three, six and nine months after pos-t (follow-up assessments).

Study Arms (2)

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

The students in the control cluster continue scheduled school activities as usual.

Experimental group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the intervention cluster take part in the SUN Program.

Behavioral: The SUN Program

Interventions

The SUN Program BEHAVIORAL

The SUN Program is a manualized bystander program for high-school adolescents. The program includes ten 50-to-60 minute weekly sessions. The central contents of the program include sexual and reproductive rights, sexual violence throughout the lifespan in different contexts, bystander attitudes and behaviors, and empathy. Every session includes psychoeducation components as well as skills-training moments. The sessions must be delivered by two psychologists with supervision. Session contents are divided as following: Session 1: Introduction to sexual violence and sexual rights; Session 2: Sexual violence: behaviors and contexts, Session 3: Sexual consent; Session 4: Sexual violence myths; Session 5: Sexual violence in intimate relationships; Session 6: The role of the bystanders; Session 7: The bystander effect; Session 8: Bystander intervention; Session 9: Empathy; Session 10: Summary

Experimental group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 12 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Adolescents
• Enrolled in high schools in grades 10th and 11th
• Enrolled in schools of the North or Center of Portugal
• Fluent in Portuguese (spoken and written)

You may not qualify if:

• Presence of a serious developmental disorder, physical or mental health issue that interferes with the participation in the sessions, as reported by the caregivers or by the school staff

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universidade do Porto: lead
• University of Coimbra: collaborator
• Aveiro University: collaborator
• Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto: collaborator
• Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal: collaborator
• Center for Psychology at the University of Porto, Portugal: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Four different schools in Porto and Aveiro districts

Porto, Portugal

Location

Related Publications (8)

• Torazzi E, Merelli V, Barbara G, Kustermann A, Marasciuolo L, Collini F, Cattaneo C. Similarity and Differences in Sexual Violence Against Adolescents and Adult Women: The Need to Focus on Adolescent Victims. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2021 Jun;34(3):302-310. doi: 10.1016/j.jpag.2020.11.018. Epub 2020 Nov 28.

  PMID: 33259887 BACKGROUND

• Piolanti A, Jouriles EN, Foran HM. Assessment of Psychosocial Programs to Prevent Sexual Violence During Adolescence: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Nov 1;5(11):e2240895. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.40895.

  PMID: 36346627 BACKGROUND

• Panisch LS, Faulkner M, Fernandez SB, Fava NM. Exploring How Trauma Is Addressed in Sexual Education Interventions for Youth: A Scoping Review. Health Educ Behav. 2020 Dec;47(6):880-893. doi: 10.1177/1090198120954398. Epub 2020 Sep 8.

  PMID: 32900237 BACKGROUND

• McMahon S, Allen CT, Postmus JL, McMahon SM, Peterson NA, Lowe Hoffman M. Measuring bystander attitudes and behavior to prevent sexual violence. J Am Coll Health. 2014;62(1):58-66. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2013.849258.

  PMID: 24313697 BACKGROUND

• Gottfredson DC, Cook TD, Gardner FE, Gorman-Smith D, Howe GW, Sandler IN, Zafft KM. Standards of Evidence for Efficacy, Effectiveness, and Scale-up Research in Prevention Science: Next Generation. Prev Sci. 2015 Oct;16(7):893-926. doi: 10.1007/s11121-015-0555-x.

  PMID: 25846268 BACKGROUND

• Carmo E, Brazao N, Carvalho J. The Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence Against Adolescents in School and Community Settings: A Scoping Review. J Sex Res. 2025 May;62(4):656-672. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2024.2367562. Epub 2024 Jun 28.

  PMID: 38940424 BACKGROUND

• Campbell MK, Piaggio G, Elbourne DR, Altman DG; CONSORT Group. Consort 2010 statement: extension to cluster randomised trials. BMJ. 2012 Sep 4;345:e5661. doi: 10.1136/bmj.e5661. No abstract available.

  PMID: 22951546 BACKGROUND

• Barbara G, Albertini V, Tagi VM, Maggioni L, Gorio MC, Cattaneo C, Parazzini F, Ricci E, Buggio L, Kustermann A. Characteristics of Sexual Violence Against Adolescent Girls: A 10 Years' Retrospective Study of 731 Sexually Abused Adolescents. Int J Womens Health. 2022 Mar 3;14:311-321. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S343935. eCollection 2022.

  PMID: 35273451 BACKGROUND

Study Officials

• Joana Carvalho, PhD

  William James Center for Research, Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Eunice Carmo, MSc

  Center for Psychology at University of Porto

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Participants in the control groups take part in the scheduled in-person school activities, as usual. Participants in the intervention group take part in the in-person sessions of the SUN Program. This is a parallel design, so participants are part of the same group for the duration of the entire study.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 23, 2024
• First Posted: February 17, 2025
• Study Start: June 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2025
• Study Completion: December 1, 2025
• Last Updated: November 28, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

PT (1)