When it’s safer to walk away: Urban, low opportunity emerging adults’ willingness to use bystander behaviors in response to community and dating violence

Encouraging bystanders to intervene safely and effectively in situations that could escalate to violence—known as bystander behavior programs—is a growing yet largely untested strategy to prevent dating violence. Using a quasi-experimental design, we evaluate a low-resource, low-intensity intervention aimed at preventing dating violence among college students. The integrated behavioral model (IBM) was used to guide the evaluation. We also assess which IBM variables were most strongly associated with bystander behaviors. Participants were drawn from two Virginia colleges that predominantly train females in the health profession sciences. The intervention group ( n = 329) participated in a university-wide bystander behavior intervention consisting of a 30-min presentation on dating violence at new-student orientation and a week-long “red flag” social marketing campaign on campus to raise awareness of dating violence. Controlling for changes at the comparison university, results showed an increase in bystander behaviors, such as encouraging a friend who may be in an abusive relationship to get help, after the intervention and adjusting for potential confounders (increase of 1.41 bystander behaviors, p = .04). However, no significant changes were found for bystander intentions, self-efficacy, social norms, or attitudes related to dating violence from pre- to post-intervention. Self-efficacy had a direct relationship with bystander behaviors. Results suggest that low-resource interventions have a modest effect on increasing bystander behaviors. However, higher resource interventions likely are needed for a larger impact, especially among students who already demonstrate strong baseline intentions to intervene and prevent dating violence.

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Exploration of Dating Violence and Related Attitudes Among Adolescents and Emerging Adults

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260518770185 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 088626051877018 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Audrey Courtain ◽

Fabienne Glowacz

Keyword(s):

Emerging Adults ◽

Dating Violence

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Polydrug Use and Dating Violence Among Emerging Adults

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260520934427 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 088626052093442

Author(s):

Hye Jeong Choi ◽

Hannah Grigorian ◽

Alisa Garner ◽

Gregory L. Stuart ◽

Jeff. R. Temple

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Substance Use ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Violence Prevention ◽

Emerging Adults ◽

Dating Violence ◽

Marijuana Use ◽

Heavy Alcohol ◽

Violence Victimization ◽

Polysubstance Use

We examined sociodemographic and psychosocial risk factors that moderate the (poly) substance use and dating violence victimization and perpetration relationship among emerging adults. Using an ethnically diverse sample ( N = 698), we used latent class analyses to identify mutually exclusive groups based on monthly and past-year substance use. We then examined these groups as they relate to dating violence victimization and perpetration and the moderating effect of various risk factors. Five classes were identified based on substance use patterns: (a) Regular Alcohol use, (b) Polysubstance use, (c) Heavy Alcohol and Marijuana use, (d) Mild Alcohol use, and (e) Occasional Alcohol and Marijuana use classes. Participants in the Polysubstance use class were the most likely to perpetrate dating violence followed by Heavy Alcohol and Marijuana use, Occasional Alcohol and Marijuana use, Regular Alcohol, and Mild Alcohol use classes. Similarly, participants in the Polysubstance use class were the most likely to be victims of dating violence followed by Occasional Alcohol and Marijuana, Heavy Alcohol and Marijuana, Regular Alcohol, and Mild Alcohol use classes. Depending on substance use class, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, history of dating violence, and trauma symptoms differentially influenced dating violence perpetration and victimization at 1-year follow-up. Our findings support the need to comprehensively address dating violence among emerging adults. Intimate partner violence prevention and intervention programs may benefit from targeting emerging adults who misuse substances and incorporating substance use interventions into dating violence prevention efforts.

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Using the media practice model to examine dating violence in emerging adults.

Psychology of Popular Media Culture ◽

10.1037/ppm0000151 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 429-449 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Pam McAuslan ◽

Michelle Leonard ◽

Teila Pickett

Keyword(s):

Emerging Adults ◽

Dating Violence ◽

Practice Model ◽

The Media ◽

Media Practice Model

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59 Correlates of digital dating violence among high-risk emerging adults

10.1136/injuryprev-2017-042560.59 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Jhuree Hong ◽

Sara F Stein ◽

Lisa Zbizek-Nulph ◽

Jessica Ramirez ◽

Rebecca M Cunningham ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Risk ◽

Emerging Adults ◽

Dating Violence

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24. Discordant Substance Use and the Daily Experience of Partner Violence in Adolescent and Emerging Adults With Previous Dating Violence

Journal of Adolescent Health ◽

10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.12.032 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 68 (2) ◽

pp. S13-S14

Author(s):

Tiffany E. Mark ◽

Sarah J. Flessa ◽

Shang-en Chung ◽

Maria Trent ◽

Megan H. Bair-Merritt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Emerging Adults ◽

Dating Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Daily Experience

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Unraveling the Roles of Distrust, Suspicion of Infidelity, and Jealousy in Cyber Dating Abuse Perpetration: An Attachment Theory Perspective

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260520927505 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 088626052092750 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ezgi Toplu-Demirtaş ◽

Nazli Busra Akcabozan-Kayabol ◽

Aysegul Araci-Iyiaydin ◽

Frank D. Fincham

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Attachment Theory ◽

Emerging Adults ◽

Dating Violence ◽

Short Form ◽

Anxious Attachment ◽

Dating Abuse ◽

Close Relationship ◽

Potential Risk Factors ◽

Cyber Dating Abuse

People who are anxiously attached, distrustful and jealous of their partners, and suspect infidelity are more likely to use psychological dating violence. Is this also true for cyber dating abuse perpetration (CDAP)? This study investigated the prevalence of and gender differences in self-reported CDAP and whether trust, anticipated partner infidelity, and jealousy serially mediated the association between anxious attachment and CDAP in a sample of Turkish college students. College students ( N = 390) completed the Cyber Dating Violence Inventory, Anxious Attachment subscale of the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale-Short Form, Dyadic Trust Scale, Cognitive Jealousy subscale of the Multidimensional Jealousy Scale, Partners’ Intentions Towards Infidelity Scale, and a Demographic Information Form. A total of 67% of the sample used at least one cyber abusive behavior with their partner over the last 6 months. A multiple serial mediation model indicated that greater anxious attachment was related to more dyadic distrust, the anticipation of partner infidelity, and jealousy, and, in turn, to the use of cyber dating abuse. Overall, results show that the prevalence of CDAP is high and that attachment theory offers a promising framework for identifying predictors of CDAP in emerging adults. These findings have implications for research, intervention, and prevention of CDAP by identifying potential risk factors for perpetrating cyber abuse.

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Who, When, How, and Why Bystanders Intervene in Physical and Psychological Teen Dating Violence

Trauma Violence & Abuse ◽

10.1177/1524838018806505 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 54-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Katrina J. Debnam ◽

Victoria Mauer

Keyword(s):

Dating Violence ◽

Teen Dating Violence ◽

Bystander Intervention ◽

Intervention Programs ◽

Inclusion Criteria ◽

Physical Health Problems ◽

Teen Dating ◽

Survey Designs ◽

Mental And Physical Health ◽

Bystander Behaviors

Teen dating violence victimization is associated with a host of adverse mental and physical health problems. A number of bystander-focused interventions have been developed to mitigate the occurrence of abuse but with varying effectiveness. There remains a need to understand more about bystander behaviors used by adolescents to ensure that existing intervention components match with bystanders’ attitudes and behaviors about intervening. The current study is a scoping review of existing literature on adolescents’ use of bystander behaviors to determine who, when, how, and why adolescents intervene. Seventeen articles met inclusion criteria, the majority of which used qualitative or observational survey designs. Adolescents who either feel a sense of responsibility and confidence to intervene or are directly involved with or know the individuals involved in the dating violence are more likely to intervene. Adolescents intervene when they are able to define an act as dating violence and tend to intervene when the victim is female and when they have a supportive relationship with at least one teacher in their school. The various ways how bystander intervention is engaged in ranges from verbally or physically confronting the abuser, distracting the abuser, seeking support from an adult, to passively accepting the abuse. Reasons why adolescents intervene include believing the abuse is wrong and that intervening will diffuse the situation and help the victim. A number of barriers to bystander intervention emerged from analysis including individual attitudes and school climate factors. Implications for strengthening bystander intervention programs are discussed.

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