Predictors of uptake and retention in an intervention to improve social reactions to disclosures of sexual assault and partner abuse

Abstract

Objective Examine uptake (e.g., initial session participation) and retention (e.g., booster session participation) in an intervention about responding to sexual assault and partner abuse disclosures. Participants: Participants were 836 students (primarily White; upper-middle class) at a medium-sized university. Method: Participants completed baseline surveys, were invited to a two-session intervention, and responded to a follow-up survey. Results: Initial session attendance was 36.2% (n = 303); of those, 83.1% (n = 252) attended the booster. Female, sexual minority students, and students with fewer prior negative reactions, and higher initial session satisfaction were more likely to attend than other students. Participants' reported reasons for not attending included scheduling problems and topic discomfort. Participants reported that remote attendance and higher cash incentives would have made attendance more likely. Conclusion: Findings indicate the draw of cash incentives, a need to reach high-risk students and integrate into existing organizations, and the potential for individualized prevention.

Keywords: Intervention; intimate partner violence; recruitment; retention; sexual assault.

Figure 1.. Participant retention and attrition across data collection time points (N = 1,268)

Note. ^aTwo participants attended but left early; these participants are not included in analyses. ^bWe conducted a series of chi-square and t-test analyses to compare intervention group participants who completed the Time 2 survey to those who did not complete the Time 2 survey on Time 1 constructs. Participants who completed the Time 2 survey were more likely to be women, less likely to be a PA victim during their lifetime, gave less negative social reactions, and were more likely to have attended both the initial and booster session. Groups did not differ at baseline on year of college, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, receiving a SA/PA disclosure in the past six months, lifetime SA victimization, or whether they had provided positive social reactions or intended to provide positive and negative social reactions.