Evaluating the Efficacy of a New Sexual Violence Prevention Program with College Students

NCT06887361 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: MOONProgram2022.12638.BD
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 200
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This research project will develop, deliver, and assess the efficacy of a new sexual violence (SV) prevention program for college students. The MOON program (Moving ON against sexual violence) aims to prevent sexual violence amongst university students, who are known to be an at-risk population for this form of violence. The MOON program follows a bystander approach, aiming to teach and capacitate young adults to be active agents of prevention within their communities. To do so, the program combines education on several SV-related topics with skills-training activities. Throughout five online sessions, the participants will be educated on topics such as sexual violence and consent, gender stereotypes, SV myths and bystander attitudes and behaviors. The main goal is to promote discussion forums, increase the participants knowledge on these topics and deconstruct pre-conceived beliefs/ideas that promote societal tolerance and acceptance of SV The program follows a bystander approach to support young adults in the development of bystander attitudes and behaviors that will help them act in situations of risk of SV. To achieve this goal, the program sessions will also have a major focus on building bystander prevention skills through online practical exercises (e.g., training scenarios). Finally, the program also focuses on promoting empathy towards others, specifically in the context of sexual violence prevention. This focus aims to deconstruct victim blaming narratives and to build victim-support skills, to enhance the students' sense of responsibility and their proclivity to act and help others in need. Being empathic towards others is perceived as a crucial component in the bystander decision-making to intervene. This clinical trial will apply the MOON program with university students nationwide in the Portuguese context and compare the participants who will take part in the program (experimental group) with other students who will not (control group). Thus, the RCT will be conducted with the following goals:

1. 1.To assess the treatment's efficacy, by evaluating the program's ability to significantly reduce gender stereotypes, sexism, and rape myths; and to significantly increase active bystander attitudes and behaviors and empathy towards other people.
2. 2.To examine the extent to which any changes are maintained three, six and nine months after the program's completion.
3. 3.To assess mechanisms of change, i.e., to test whether changes in cognitive outcomes, namely in rape myth endorsement, are associated with changes over time in behavioral outcomes, as bystander attitudes/behaviors.
4. 4.To investigate the role of age and gender as moderators of change over time in SV perpetration, gender stereotypes, sexism, rape myths, bystander attitudes and behaviors and empathy.

Conditions

Sexual Violence

Keywords

Clinical trial; Sexual Violence; Prevention; College Students; Bystander Approach

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Bystander Attitudes

  Bystander attitudes - Bystander Attitudes Scale - Revised (BAS-R) assesses bystander attitudes in SV scenarios (e.g., "Confront a friend if I hear rumors that they had forced someone to have sex"). For each scenario, participants are asked to indicate to what extent the described is acceptable according to a 5-point Likert scale that ranges from (1) = "Not acceptable" to (5) = "Extremely Acceptable". This instrument originally consisted of a 4-factor model categorizing items/scenarios by (1) High-risk Situations, (2) Post-assault Support for the Victim; (3) Post-assault Reporting of the Perpetrator; and (4) Proactive Opportunities. The Portuguese version of the measurement consists of 14 items organized into three similar subdimensions: (1) High-risk Situations, (2) Victims Support/Protection Behaviors, and (3) Proactive Opportunities.

  Assessed at five different timepoints: (1) baseline - one week prior to the beginning of the program, (2) post-test - one week after the completion of the program and (3-5) follow-ups of three, six and nine months counting from the post-test assessment.

• Bystander Behaviors

  Bystander behaviors - Bystander Behaviors Scale - Revised (BBS-R) assesses bystander behaviors within SV scenarios through 16 self-report items (e.g. "Say something to a friend who is taking a drunk person back to their room at a party"). For each scenario participants are asked if they ever been in the described situation and the response varies across "Yes", "No" and "I haven't been in that situation". The original measurement instrument is organized by a 2-factor model contemplating (1) Intervention Opportunities and (2) Proactive Opportunities.

  Assessed at five different timepoints: (1) baseline - one week prior to the beginning of the program, (2) post-test - one week after the completion of the program and (3-5) follow-ups of three, six and nine months counting from the post-test assessment.

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Empathy

  Assessed at five different timepoints: (1) baseline - one week prior to the beginning of the program, (2) post-test - one week after the completion of the program and (3-5) follow-ups of three, six and nine months counting from the post-test assessment.

• Myths about sexual violence

  Assessed at five different timepoints: (1) baseline - one week prior to the beginning of the program, (2) post-test - one week after the completion of the program and (3-5) follow-ups of three, six and nine months counting from the post-test assessment.

• Attitudes about gender roles

  Assessed at five different timepoints: (1) baseline - one week prior to the beginning of the program, (2) post-test - one week after the completion of the program and (3-5) follow-ups of three, six and nine months counting from the post-test assessment.

• Sexism

  Assessed at five different timepoints: (1) baseline - one week prior to the beginning of the program, (2) post-test - one week after the completion of the program and (3-5) follow-ups of three, six and nine months counting from the post-test assessment.

• Social Desirability

  Assessed at five different timepoints: (1) baseline - one week prior to the beginning of the program, (2) post-test - one week after the completion of the program and (3-5) follow-ups of three, six and nine months counting from the post-test assessment.

Study Arms (2)

Experimental Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants allocated to this arm will receive intervention (i.e., will participate in the MOON sessions).

Behavioral: MOON Program

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants allocated to this arm will be part of a control group, not receiving intervention and participating exclusively in the assessment time points.

Interventions

MOON Program BEHAVIORAL

The MOON Program aims to contribute to the primary prevention of sexual violence among young university students. The program aims to achieve this goal by promoting bystander attitudes and behaviors through psychoeducation and skills training that enable participants to be active agents in this process. During the sessions, beliefs that legitimize violence will be deconstructed and skills such as communication about consent and empathy will be promoted. The MOON program consists of five online sessions, which are intended to be completed autonomously on a weekly basis. Throughout the sessions, participants will learn on the following topics: SV and consent, gender stereotypes, SV myths and bystander attitudes and behaviors.

Experimental Group

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• years old or older Enrolled in a Portuguese university Fluent in Portuguese (written and spoken)

Sponsors & Collaborators

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

Study Sites (1)

University of Porto

Porto, Portugal

RECRUITING

Related Publications (13)

• Almiro PA, Marques PRF, Duarte MC, Alberto IM, Simoes MR. Validation study of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC) in an adolescents' forensic sample. Acta Psychol (Amst). 2023 May;235:103900. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103900. Epub 2023 Mar 31.

  PMID: 37004420 BACKGROUND

• Jouriles EN, Krauss A, Vu NL, Banyard VL, McDonald R. Bystander programs addressing sexual violence on college campuses: A systematic review and meta-analysis of program outcomes and delivery methods. J Am Coll Health. 2018 Aug-Sep;66(6):457-466. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2018.1431906. Epub 2018 Mar 12.

  PMID: 29405865 BACKGROUND

• Martins, S., Machado, C., Abrunhosa, R., & Manita, C. (2012). Escala de Crenças sobre Violência Sexual (ECVS). Análise Psicológica, 30(1 / 2), 177-191. https://doi.org/10.14417/ap.546

  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

• Grant S, Mayo-Wilson E, Montgomery P, Macdonald G, Michie S, Hopewell S, Moher D; , on behalf of the CONSORT-SPI Group. CONSORT-SPI 2018 Explanation and Elaboration: guidance for reporting social and psychological intervention trials. Trials. 2018 Jul 31;19(1):406. doi: 10.1186/s13063-018-2735-z.

  PMID: 30060763 BACKGROUND

• Mikton C. Preventing intimate partner and sexual violence against women: taking action and generating evidence. Inj Prev. 2010 Oct;16(5):359-60. doi: 10.1136/ip.2010.029629. No abstract available.

  PMID: 20921563 BACKGROUND

• Kettrey HH, Marx RA. The Effects of Bystander Programs on the Prevention of Sexual Assault across the College Years: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Youth Adolesc. 2019 Feb;48(2):212-227. doi: 10.1007/s10964-018-0927-1. Epub 2018 Sep 27.

  PMID: 30264210 BACKGROUND

• Katz J, Moore J. Bystander education training for campus sexual assault prevention: an initial meta-analysis. Violence Vict. 2013;28(6):1054-67. doi: 10.1891/0886-6708.vv-d-12-00113.

  PMID: 24547680 BACKGROUND

• Krug EG, Mercy JA, Dahlberg LL, Zwi AB. The world report on violence and health. Lancet. 2002 Oct 5;360(9339):1083-8. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11133-0.

  PMID: 12384003 BACKGROUND

• Carvalho J, Rosa PJ, Pereira B. Dynamic Risk Factors Characterizing Aggressive Sexual Initiation by Female College Students. J Interpers Violence. 2021 Mar;36(5-6):2455-2477. doi: 10.1177/0886260518760010. Epub 2018 Mar 5.

  PMID: 29502500 BACKGROUND

• Carvalho J, Sa A. Male College Students Using Sexually Aggressive Strategies: Findings on the Interpersonal Relationship Profile. J Interpers Violence. 2020 Feb;35(3-4):646-661. doi: 10.1177/0886260516689779. Epub 2017 Jan 30.

  PMID: 29294637 BACKGROUND

• McDaniel MC, Rodriguez DN. Undergraduate Men's Self-Reports of Sexual Assault and Perceptions of College Campus Acquaintance Rape. J Interpers Violence. 2021 Feb;36(3-4):1772-1790. doi: 10.1177/0886260517743552. Epub 2017 Nov 29.

  PMID: 29295008 BACKGROUND

• Krahe B, Berger A. Men and women as perpetrators and victims of sexual aggression in heterosexual and same-sex encounters: a study of first-year college students in Germany. Aggress Behav. 2013 Sep-Oct;39(5):391-404. doi: 10.1002/ab.21482. Epub 2013 Apr 29.

  PMID: 23629691 BACKGROUND

Study Officials

• Joana Carvalho, PhD

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

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Central Study Contacts

Bárbara Moreira, MSc

CONTACT

938108884; bbargemoreira@gmail.com

Study Design

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

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 13, 2025
• First Posted: March 20, 2025
• Study Start: February 10, 2025
• Primary Completion: February 1, 2026
• Study Completion: February 1, 2026
• Last Updated: March 20, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

PT (1)