Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Psychology (Ph.D.)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Imad Zaheer

Second Advisor

Mark Terjesen

Third Advisor

William Chaplin

Abstract

The current study examined the impact of a live, virtual training on the combined topics of affirmative consent and bystander intervention among 1,395 students new to the university in 2022. Student responses on pre-survey and post-training surveys were analyzed to determine if attending the intervention promoted students’ ability to understand, practice and recognize prosocial consent and bystander related attitudes and behaviors. New students registered to attend one 60-minute virtual training facilitated by the Department of Student Health and Wellness. Pre-survey data was collected in the form of a virtual survey prior to the intervention and again 30 days after students attended the training. Pre- and post-survey questions assessed students’: knowledge of New York State’s official definition of affirmative consent, attitudes about practicing affirmative consent, recognition of potential warning signs for sexual violence, and confidence to act as a third party (bystander) in a concerning situation. Outcome measures included survey response scores to the total 70 items across the four measurement scales. Results of the self-report survey indicate that students who completed the training demonstrated an increase in knowledge and consent-related attitudes. Finally, results also demonstrated that as a whole, participants gained awareness and confidence in their ability to act in a prosocial manner in a potentially harmful situation involving a third party. Strengths, limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed below.

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