Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Psychology (Ph.D.)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Andrea Bergman

Second Advisor

Elissa J Brown

Third Advisor

Wilson McDermut

Abstract

Emerging adulthood represents a period of elevated risk for sexual assault (SA), particularly among college students. Students are not only potential victims or perpetrators but also bystanders—individuals who may witness or become aware of risky or harmful situations and must decide whether and how to respond. Understanding what influences students’ decisions to intervene as bystanders in SA contexts is critical to improving peer responses and fostering safer campus environments. This study used a concurrent mixed methods design to examine how college students’ knowledge of campus SA policies, personal history of victimization, prior experiences receiving help, and SA disclosure reactions relate to self-reported bystander behavior. Participants (N = 442) completed a questionnaire assessing these variables and responded to open-ended questions about real-life intervention decisions. Quantitative analyses showed that students who had experienced sexual assault, received prior help, or disclosed their assault and received positive reactions were significantly more likely to intervene as bystanders. Knowledge of campus policies was not associated with intervention. Qualitative analyses revealed that students were more likely to intervene when they felt confident in their ability to help, believed help was wanted, or felt a personal connection to the individual in need. Moral values, empathy, and a sense of responsibility also motivated action, while fear of harm, uncertainty, and assumptions that others would intervene often inhibited it. These findings suggest that emotionally meaningful experiences and relational dynamics, rather than formal knowledge alone, may shape students’ willingness to act, highlighting the importance of relational and experiential factors in bystander decision-making.

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