This article reviews the transtheoretical model of readiness for change and examined how it was applied to a primary prevention program, Bringing in the Bystander. The study examined how to operationalize and create measures to quantify readiness for change in the field of sexual violence prevention and evaluation. Findings indicated that individuals in the precontemplative stage experienced fewer program effects. Also, findings suggested that measures used to quantify readiness for change demonstrated reliability, validity, as well as internal consistency and stability over time.
These summaries were written by SVPEP staff and are based on original papers published within the last 6 years. The information available on this web site is provided as a public service and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the Arizona Department of Health Services, or the University of Arizona. To conduct an individual search or locate older articles use the Search Summary Database which includes over 600 articles related to sexual violence.
Theory
Banyard, V. L., Eckstein, R. P., & Moynihan, M. M. (2009). Sexual violence prevention. The role of stages of change. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, (in press).
Fri, 2009-05-01
Sexual violence prevention programs may benefit from tailoring approaches for individuals at different stages of change.
Sample was small and lacked ethnic diversity. Outcome measures were mostly attitudinal.
Cornelius, T. L., Sullivan, K. T., Wyngarden, N., & Milliken, J. C.(2009). Participation in prevention programs for dating violence. Beliefs about relationship violence and intention to participate. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24, 1057-1078.
Fri, 2010-02-05
Intention to participate in dating violence prevention programs may be predicted by beliefs about susceptibility to dating violence and perceived benefits.
The Health Belief Model (HBM) was used to examine factors that may motivate individuals to participate in dating violence prevention programs. Participants included 180 undergraduate students from a Midwestern university. Findings suggested that perceptions of vulnerability to future violence and perceived benefits were the most significant predictors of participation in dating violence prevention programs. No differences were found among those who had previously experienced psychological and/or physical violence. The authors recommended that recruitment of participants for prevention programs should focus on perceived susceptibility and benefits and not consequences of dating violence.
Study sample was small and used the participant’s intention to participate in a prevention program as criteria for participation in the study.
Lee, D.S., Guy, L., Perry, B., Sniffen, C.K., & Mixson, S.A. (2007). Sexual violence prevention. The Prevention Researcher, 14, 15-20.
Wed, 2007-08-01
Because sexual violence is a social problem, ending it requires comprehensive community prevention strategies as well as individual education.
The authors reviewed the feminist theoretical basis for sexual violence prevention programs, which states that cultural norms and unequal gender roles lead inevitably to violence against women. They argue that education efforts that address attitudes about gender roles and seek to build relationship skills can be made more effective by incorporating them into comprehensive and community change models. Several comprehensive programs developed using the Ecological Model and the Spectrum of Prevention model are described. Examples of programs based on community mobilization, changing social norms, and social marketing illustrate community level prevention strategies. The importance of promoting policy changes at local and national levels is emphasized. Finally, the authors call for more funding and research into cultural causes of and responses to sexual violence.
Lussier, P., & Healey, J. Searching for the developmental origins of sexual violence: Examining the co-occurrence of physical aggression and sexual behaviors in early childhood. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 28, 1-23.
Tue, 2010-03-16
At the earliest stages in behavioral development physical aggression parallels sexual behaviors among preschool aged children.
Between 2008 and 2009 the co-occurrence of physical aggression and normative sexual behaviors as well as the covariates of the frequency of the behaviors were examined among 100 preschoolers in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This study was the first wave in the Vancouver Longitudinal Study on the Psychosocial Development of Children. Two samples were recruited: a clinical sample (14) and community sample (86). Face -to-face interviews were conducted with the primary caregiver and child. Males characterized by a spectrum disorder from low-income families were more likely to show higher levels of both behaviors. These findings may be helpful in understanding origins of sexually violent offenses. However, more research is needed to understand the developmental pathways of aggressive behaviors among preschoolers that may manifest into more severe levels of aggression and sexual behaviors as they become older.
The sample included a small group of Canadian preschool aged children and findings may not be generalizable.
Macy, R. J. (2006). A coping theory framework toward preventing sexual revictimization. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 12, 177-192.
Thu, 2006-06-01
Adaptive, proactive, and resistive-defensive coping strategies may be used to construct a framework for interventions to prevent revictimization.
This paper examines three related coping theories; adaptive, proactive, and resistive-defensive and addresses how they may provide a framework to organize women’s coping efforts after sexual victimization in order to decrease the negative aspects of assault and reduce the likelihood of revictimization. The paper consists of several sections: a summary of research on revictimization, a description of the three types of coping theories, the connections between theories, limitations of the research, and recommendations for future research.
There is limited research on the scope of theory.
Mattaini, M. A., & McGuire, M. S. (2006). Behavioral strategies for constructing nonviolent cultures with Youth: A review. Behavior Modification, 30, 184-224.
Sun, 2006-01-01
This article provides a brief review of the roots of youth violence at a social level. It describes the traits of effective and ineffective programs to address youth violence, and focuses on two types of intervention strategies it considers to be promising and potentially effective.
The first type is universal skill training with youth, for which the article provides an analysis of several programs using universal skill training. Each program description offers and a summary of its strengths and weaknesses. Such programmatic analysis is also provided for the second intervention type, which is the use of universal ecological based strategies in interventions. Such interventions are designed to change cultural practice in cultural networks.
White, J. W. (2009). A gendered approach to adolescent dating violence: Conceptual and methodological issues. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 33, 1-15.
Fri, 2009-05-01
Dating violence should be considered within the Gendered Adolescent Interpersonal Aggression (GAIA) model, which examines the individual within the context of relationships and social institutions.
This article reviews major research findings to understand the context and process of why an adolescent chooses to use violence or becomes the target of violence in dating relationships. Using the social ecological model as its foundation, authors discuss a new person centered model: Gendered Adolescent Interpersonal Aggression (GAIA). Support for the model is based on the idea that a young person’s sense of self is influenced by adolescent friendships, romantic relationships, family, and other social institutions. Two additions to the social ecological model are suggested: gender and identity. Gender should be considered at each level of the social ecological model. Identity is considered a meta-construct and involves interactions at all levels.
Discussions of implications for practice are limited.