College student alcohol use and confidence to intervene in interpersonal violence: Differences by gender and sexual orientation

Abstract

Objectives: The current study examined the association between alcohol use frequency (ie, days a week one consumes alcohol), sexual and gender identity, and bystander confidence to intervene in interpersonal violence (ie, bystander self-efficacy). Participants: Participants were 750 undergraduate students aged 18–25 (260 heterosexual men, 260 heterosexual women, 59 SM men [54 cisgender, 5 transgender men], and 171 SM women [169 cisgender, 2 transgender women]). Methods: Participants completed an online survey about alcohol and sexual behaviors. Results: Results indicated that (1) alcohol use frequency was positively associated with greater bystander self-efficacy, (2) heterosexual men, compared to heterosexual women, reported lower bystander self-efficacy, and (3) the association between alcohol use frequency and bystander self-efficacy was significant and positive among heterosexual, but not SM, women. Conclusions: Prevention efforts may benefit from targeting individuals who drink more frequently and ensuring that they have the skills to effectively intervene.

Keywords:

• Alcohol use
• bystander effect
• college students
• gender identity
• sexual orientation

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of United States of America and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Georgia State University.

Notes

1 Seven participants reported “prefer not to answer” on this question. These participants were ultimately classified into one of the two SM groups based on their responses to the question, “Would you say that your sexual feelings and attractions these days are a). only towards women, b.) mostly towards women, c.) equally towards women and men, d.) mostly towards men, or e.) only towards women. Analyses were conducted with and without these participants in the model. The pattern of effects was the same between the two models, and thus these participants were retained in the final model.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism under Grants R34AA025691 (PI: Gilmore) and K01AA028844 (PI: Leone).