Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2021 Apr 1;36(2):320-336.
doi: 10.1891/VV-D-20-00060.

Alcohol's Effects on Bystander Intervention Strategies to Prevent Sexual Assault

Ana J Bridges  1 , Alita M Mobley  2 , Isabel F Augur  2 , Tiffany L Marcantonio  3 , Jacquelyn D Wiersma-Mosley  4 , Kristen N Jozkowski  3 , Lindsay S Ham  2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Alcohol's Effects on Bystander Intervention Strategies to Prevent Sexual Assault

Ana J Bridges et al. Violence Vict. .

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.

Keywords: bystander intervention; intoxication; prevention; rape; victimization.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure. The authors have no relevant financial interest or affiliations with any commercial interests related to the subjects discussed within this article.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Abbey A, Zawacki T, Buck PO, Clinton AM, & McAuslan P (2001). Alcohol and sexual assault. Alcohol Research & Health: The Journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 25, 43–51. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Banerjee M, Capozzoli M, McSweeney L, & Sinha D (1999). Beyond kappa: A review of inter-rater agreement measures. Canadian Journal of Statistics, 27, 3–23. 10.2307/3315487 - DOI
    1. Banyard V, Moschella E, Grych J, & Jouriles E (2019). What happened next? New measures of consequences of bystander actions to prevent interpersonal violence. Psychology of Violence, 9(6), 664–674. 10.1037/vio0000229 - DOI
    1. Bennett S, Banyard VL, & Edwards KM (2017). The impact of the bystander’s relationship with the victim and the perpetrator on intent to help in situations involving sexual violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 32, 682–702. 10.1177/0886260515586373 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Berkowitz A (2009). Response ability: A complete guide to bystander intervention. Beck & Co.

Publication types