Citation

Bridges AJ, Mobley AM, Augur IF, Marcantonio TL, Wiersma-Mosley JD, Jozkowski KN, Ham LS. Violence Vict. 2021; 36(2): 320-336.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Springer Publishing)

DOI

10.1891/VV-D-20-00060

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Alcohol's effects on bystander responses to potential sexual assault situations are understudied. In this mixed-methods study, we examined quality of bystander responses in intoxicated versus sober people. Participants were 121 young adults (ages 21-29, 50% female) randomly assigned to consume alcoholic beverages or soda water. After drinking, participants listened to a sexual assault vignette and completed a semistructured interview assessing how they would respond if they had witnessed the situation. Nearly all participants reported they would directly intervene if faced with the situation. Intoxicated participants and men were significantly less likely to use high-quality bystander intervention strategies than were sober participants and women.

RESULTS suggest that alcohol intoxication may negatively impact the likelihood that bystander intervention efforts will be helpful.

Language: en

Keywords

prevention; rape; victimization; bystander intervention; intoxication