Summary: 3,821 US college football players participated in the study. The researchers analyzed data from the 2012 National Study of Student Athlete Environments. The survey instrument included questions to assess: exploitative entitlement, communication expectations from the coach, team discipline, attitudes about intervening, bystander intervention intentions, and the NCAA division of competition (e.g I, II, or III). The researchers found that higher self-reported exploitative entitlement was correlated with a much lower likelihood to intervene and prevent inappropriate sexual behavior. When the student athletes reported a higher rating of anticipated coach discipline regarding negative behavior off of the field, as well as greater communication regarding the coach’s student behavior expectations, the likelihood to intervene in the prevention of inappropriate sexual behavior was also higher. Further details regarding the full scope of the NCAA’s research can be found at ncaa.org/research.
Application/Evaluation: This article adds to the literature of bystander programming and student athletes. The measures of the National Study of Student Athletes are included in the article’s appendix.
Limitations: This study focused on male football athletes and results are not generalizable for college athletes who participate in other sports.