A Secondary Data Analysis Exploring the Impacts of Synchronous and Asynchronous Sexual Assault Bystander Intervention Training: A Pilot Study

Campus sexual assault has been recognized as one of the most pressing issues on college campuses and an epidemic across the U.S. This study aims to explore perceived prosocial behavior change of one bystander intervention training in two different modalities: synchronous virtual via Zoom and asynchronous online training via a learning management system (LMS). To date, no research study evaluates the same bystander intervention program across different intervention delivery modalities. This research is the first to examine the relationship between intervention delivery modality and post-evaluation questions and serves as a pilot study for future research. Secondary data used in this study were collected between October 2020 and April 2021. The study sample consisted of first-year college students enrolled at a public midsize southeast university in the United States. The total population of this study includes ( n = 195) first-year students who completed the bystander intervention training (BIT) and the post-evaluation survey. To examine the significant association between each post-evaluation question and racial identity, gender identity, and sexual orientation a Fisher’s exact test was conducted. In the LMS modality, Black/African American participants ( n = 19) had 92% times greater odds of agreeing or strongly agreeing to change some behaviors as a result of this BIT compared to White/Caucasian participants ( n = 30). The need for adaptive college campus programming that meets the expectations and needs of students today is a valuable contribution to public health. This study aims to open a research pathway to provide further recommendations to enhance inclusion efforts for sexual assault prevention programming.