Citation

Edwards KM, Sessarego SN, Stanley LR, Mitchell KJ, Eckstein RP, Rodenhizer KAE, Leyva PC, Banyard VL. J. Interpers. Violence 2017; ePub(ePub): 886260517746946.

Affiliation

University of New Hampshire, Durham, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0886260517746946

PMID

29295034

Abstract

This article describes recently developed instruments that assess school personnel's bystander barriers and intentions in situations of teen relationship abuse, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, as well as perceptions of school readiness specific to relationship abuse, sexual assault, and sexual harassment prevention and response. Participants were 1,150 high school personnel from 25 schools in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine. Specific instruments focused on bystander intentions, bystander action, barriers to bystander action, and perceptions of school readiness. Participants were randomly divided into two groups for analysis-the exploratory sample (ES; n = 575) and the confirmatory sample (CS; n = 575). Overall, the measures demonstrated acceptable fit indices.

RESULTS suggested that most measures and subscales had adequate reliability, but a few subscales had less than ideal internal consistency, which can likely be attributed to the small number of items. More work is needed, but these measures act as a starting point by which the role of school personnel in prevention initiatives and bystander intervention can be evaluated.

Language: en

Keywords

bystander; relationship abuse; school climate; school personnel; sexual assault; sexual harassment