Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence Among College Students

This project is designed to address the urgent need for an effective primary prevention approach to the problem of sexual violence among college students. The project involves developing, feasibility testing, and testing for effectiveness an innovative new approach to the primary prevention of sexual violence, alcohol, and drug abuse among college students utilizing both online e-learning and small group facilitator-led intervention modalities. The intervention is an adaptation of the successful evidence-based substance abuse and violence prevention approach called Life Skills Training (LST). The adapted intervention is designed to address the relationship between sexual violence and substance abuse; positively change social norms surrounding alcohol/drug abuse and sexual violence; train bystanders to identify and appropriately respond to problematic situations; and build social, self-regulation, and relationship skills through interactive learning and behavioral rehearsal scenarios. At the conclusion of the study, the investigators expect to be able to widely disseminate and market a new evidence-based primary prevention intervention for sexual violence for use in a variety of higher educational settings.