This study will observe sexual assault prevention programming at SUNY schools to determine if programming focusing on assertive responses lowers reported assaults. Data on programming and reported assaults will be gathered and comparisons made between schools using odds ratios and t-tests. It is hypothesized that schools offering assertive response training will have lower reported assault rates based on prior research finding such programming reduced victimization. Limitations include inconsistent assault definitions, unknown programming quality, and limited generalizability.

1. COLLEGE SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION PROGRAMMING IN NEW YORK STATE: DO THEY WORK?
NICHOLAS R. MERCADO
SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND HUMAN SERVICES, HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY, NY
Expected Findings
The evidence suggests that SUNY universities that provide
assertive response sexual assault prevention programming
will have lower rates of reported sexual assaults compared
to schools with other forms of programming.
Discussion and Limitations
Given the expected findings, policies can
be put in place to mandate the
development and implementation of
sexual assault prevention programming
on college campuses. Potential
limitations/weaknesses of this study can
be 1) the inconsistency of the definition
of sexual assault between different
campuses and individuals (leading to
underreported assaults), 2) the
potentially unknown quality of the
programming, 3) lack of generalizability
to other institutions of higher education
in the United States due the varying laws
on sexual assault among the states.
Proposed Methods
This will be an observational study of all State University
of New York (SUNY) universities to assess whether
college sexual assault prevention programming results in
lower rates of reported sexual assault. Researchers will
gather data on the presence or absence of sexual assault
prevention programming for each college and the rates
of reported sexual assaults for each institution from the
college administration. We will then compare the rates
of reported sexual assaults between colleges that deliver
programming with its focus on assertive behavior and
skills training, programming with a different pedagogical
focus, and colleges that do not offer any programming
using Odds Ratios (OR) and one-tailed T-tests. Assaults
will be classified as any incident reported to the college
administration (either directly from the student or
through the authorities) that the student identifies as a
sexual assault.
Introduction/Literature Review
Between 25-50% of women in the U.S. are sexually
assaulted or coerced in their lifetime (Rowe et al,
2012). 20-25% of women and 3% of men are sexually
assaulted during their college careers (Rothman &
Silverman, 2007). College sexual assault prevention
program has had a positive impact on the rates of
reported sexual assault (Rowe et al, 2012) as well as
rape myth attitudes (Kress et al, 2006; Stewart, 2014).
Rowe et al (2012) indicated a significant difference in
reported sexual assaults by students who received
sexual assault prevention programming (16.7%)
versus a control group who did not (36.4%).
Hypothesis: SUNY universities that provide sexual
assault prevention programming that focuses on
assertive response behavior and skills practice will
have lower rates of reported sexual assaults.
Poster printed courtesy of Master of Public Health program at Hofstra University, NY
Abstract
Sexual assaults on college campuses
continues to be a public health issue on
college campuses. Colleges that provide
sexual assault prevention programming
focusing on assertive response toward
victimization tend to have lower rates of
reported sexual assaults. This study will
be an observational study of all SUNY
schools. We will gather data on the
types of sexual assault prevention
programming offered and the aggregate
number of reported sexual assaults. We
estimate a lower prevalence of reported
sexual assaults among schools that
implement assertive response sexual
assault prevention programming.
Graph adapted from National Institute of Justice (NIJ,
2014). Out of 5,446 survey respondents
0 500 1000 1500
Any sexual assaults
(since entering
college)
Any sexual assaults
(before college)
Any sexual assaults
(lifetime)
Sexual Assaults
References
Kress, V. E., Shepherd, J. B., Anderson, R. I., Petuch, A. J., Nolan, J. M., Thiemeke, D. (2006). Evaluation of
the impact of a coeducational sexual assault prevention program on college students’ rape myth attitudes.
Journal of College Counseling,9, 148-157. doi: 10.1002/j.2161-1882.2006.tb00101.x
Rothman, E. & Silverman, J. (2007). The effects of a college sexual assault prevention program on first-year
students’ victimizationrates. Journal of American College Health, 55(5), 283-290. doi:
10.3200/JACH.55.5.283-290
Rowe, L. S., Jouriles, E. N., McDonald, R., Platt, C. G., & Gomez, G. S. (2012). Enhancing women’s resistance
to sexual coercion: A randomized controlled trial of the DATE program. Journal of American College Health,
60(3), 211-218. doi:10.1080/07448481.2011.587068
Stewart, A. L. (2014). The Men’s Project: A sexual assault prevention program targeting college men.
Psychologyof Men & Masculinity, 15(4), 481-485 doi: 10.1037/a0033947
Reported Sexual Victimizations following a Sexual Assault
Prevention Program (Assertive Response Training, Rowe et al, 2012)
Treatment
(n=36)
Control (n=66)
n % n %
Total follow-up victimizations 6 16.7 24 36.4
With no prior victimizations
(n’s = 17, 27)
0 0.0 6 22.2
With any prior victimization
(n’s = 19, 39)
6 31.6 18 46.2