An application of the theory of normative social behavior to bystander intervention for sexual assault

Abstract

Objective: Given the high prevalence of sexual assault on U.S. college campuses, the current study examines predictors of college students’ intentions to intervene to prevent sexual assault through the lens of the theory of normative social behavior (TNSB). Participants: One hundred eighty-six undergraduate students age 18–25 were recruited from an introductory course at a large Midwestern university. Methods: Data were collected through an online survey during the 2015–2016 academic year. Results: Results indicated that descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and outcome expectations had direct positive effects on behavioral intention. However, no direct effect of group identity on intention was found. In addition to these main effects, an interaction between descriptive and injunctive norms was also observed. Conclusions: The results of the current study speak to theoretical questions surrounding the nature of TNSB variables, as well as several practical implications for coordinated efforts to promote bystander intervention on college campuses.

Keywords:

• Bystander intervention
• descriptive norms
• injunctive norms
• sexual assault
• theory of normative social behavior

Conflict of interest disclosure

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The university population where data were collected is approximately 53.8% White/Caucasian, 21.7% Asian, 13.5% Hispanic/Latino, 7.1% Black/African American, and 3.7% multiracial.

2 The university population is 54.6% male and 45.4% female.

3 Based on the suggestion of one reviewer, we conducted subgroup analyses examining the role of Greek life identity on study outcomes. Specifically, given that we had a sizeable number of Greek life-affiliated students in our sample (44.6%, n = 86), we conducted separate hierarchical regressions for Greek life and non-Greek life affiliated students. Our results showed a similar pattern of findings in respect to main effects among each sub-group, with some subtle differences. Overall, both regressions explained approximately the same amount of variance (R² = .48 for non-Greeks; R² = .52 for Greeks). For both Greek and non-Greek students, group identity was not associated with intention. For Greek students, outcome expectations were most strongly associated with intention (β = .58, p < .001), followed by descriptive norms (β = .40, p < .001). Interestingly, among Greek students, injunctive norm was not associated with intention. For non-Greek students, descriptive norms were the strongest predictor of intention (β = .50, p < .001), followed by outcome expectations (β = .34, p < .001), and injunctive norms (β = .33, p < .001).