Development and Pilot Trial of an Intervention to Reduce Disclosure Recipients Negative Social Reactions and Victims Psychological Distress and Problem Drinking
Condition: Social Skills; Self-Criticism; Post-traumatic Stress Disorder; Depression; Alcohol Abuse; Drinking, College; Alcohol Drinking; Alcohol; Harmful Use; Social Stigma; Social Norms; Social Responsibility; Social Behavior; Empathy; Coping Skills; Coping Behavior
MeSH terms: Alcoholism; Depression; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Alcohol Drinking; Alcohol Drinking in College
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate an intervention, Supporting
      Survivors and Self: An Intervention for Social Supports of Survivors of Partner Abuse and
      Sexual Aggression (SSS). SSS trains potential recipients of IPV or SA disclosure on the best
      methods of responding to a victim's disclosure. Consenting college students will be
      randomized into the SSS intervention or a wait-list control condition. Evaluation data will
      be multi-informant (i.e., data from both informal supports and victims) and multi-method
      (i.e., qualitative and quantitative). The investigators hypothesize that individuals
      receiving the SSS intervention, compared to individuals in the wait-list control condition,
      will provide less negative and more positive social reactions to victims' disclosure.
    

Detailed description: 
      Intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual assault (SA) are public health issues that impact
      the vast majority of college students in some capacity (as a victim and/or disclosure
      recipient). Most (75+%) victims disclose to informal supports, such as friends.
      Unfortunately, over 80% of victims' disclosures are met with negative social reactions (e.g.,
      blame) from informal supports (used interchangeably with disclosure recipients). Negative
      social reactions predict deleterious psychological (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder) and
      behavioral (e.g., problem drinking) health outcomes in victims. Although recent research has
      shed light on the factors (e.g., victim attributions) that predict informal supports'
      negative (e.g., egocentric and blaming statements) and positive (e.g., providing emotional
      support) social reactions, there is no intervention to date that targets potential recipients
      of IPV and SA disclosure to inform these individuals of the best methods of responding to an
      IPV or SA disclosure. This type of intervention, if effective in reducing negative social
      reactions in informal supports, could reduce problem drinking and related outcomes in
      victims.

      Thus, in the current study, the investigators evaluate an intervention (i.e., Supporting
      Survivors and Self [SSS]) created for potential informal support disclosure recipients.
      College students are the target population for the initial version of the SSS intervention
      given the high rates of SA, IPV, and alcohol misuse among this demographic. The interactive,
      two-session intervention teaches potential disclosure recipients what to say and not to say
      and ways to promote healthy coping and discourage unhealthy coping in victims. The role of
      alcohol in risk for and outcomes associated with IPV and SA as well as alcohol-specific
      social reactions are addressed in the SSS intervention because alcohol is involved in most
      situations of IPV and SA among college students, and drinking to cope is common among
      victims.

      This study is a small-scale, yet rigorous, initial evaluation of the SSS intervention that
      includes a prospective (i.e., intervention prior to potential disclosure) and experimental
      (i.e., randomized control trial) methodology. Outcome data will be multi-informant (i.e.,
      data from both informal supports and victims) and multi-method (i.e., qualitative and
      quantitative). The investigators will:

        1. Implement and evaluate the effectiveness of the SSS intervention compared to a wait-list
           control condition among potential informal supports. Hypothesis 1a: Individuals
           receiving the SSS intervention (N=450) compared to individuals in the wait-list control
           condition (N=450) will report fewer IPV and SA rape myths as well as greater intentions
           to provide positive social reactions and fewer intentions to provide negative social
           reactions. Hypothesis 1b: Individuals who receive SSS intervention and are subsequent
           disclosure recipients (n=100) will report providing less negative social reactions and
           more positive social reactions than individuals in the control condition who are
           subsequent disclosure recipients (n=100); mediators (e.g., low victim blame) and
           moderators (e.g., victim alcohol use at time of assault) of outcomes will be examined.
           Hypothesis 1c: Individuals who receive the SSS intervention and are subsequent victims
           of IPV and/or SA (n=60) will report less self-blame, PTSD, depression, drinking to cope,
           and problem drinking compared to individuals in the control condition who are subsequent
           victims of IPV and/or SA (n=60); mediators (e.g., engagement in healthy coping) and
           moderators (e.g., gender) will be explored. Methodology: A random sample of college
           students from a public university will be invited to participate in a pre-test (all
           participants), SSS intervention (only participants randomly assigned to this condition),
           and six-month post-test (all participants). A subsample of disclosure recipients in the
           SSS intervention condition will be invited to participate in a qualitative exit
           interviews (after the post-test) to enrich findings and inform SSS revisions.

        2. Determine the feasibility in recruiting victims who disclosed to individuals in the SSS
           and control conditions to complete outcome surveys and gather preliminary effectiveness
           data on the SSS intervention. Hypothesis 2a: Victims who disclose to an individual in
           the SSS intervention (n=50) will report trends towards receiving more positive social
           reactions to disclosure, less negative social reactions to disclosure, and fewer
           symptoms of PTSD, depression, drinking to cope, and negative alcohol-related
           consequences compared to individuals who disclose to an individual in the control
           condition (n=50).
    

Intervention name(s): Supporting Survivors and Self: An Intervention for Social Supports of Survivors of Partner Abuse and Sexual Aggression (SSS)
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The SSS intervention consists of a two-hour session followed by a 90-minute booster session a month following the initial program session. The SSS intervention is delivered in groups of approximately 20 students facilitated by peer educators. The SSS intervention provides participants with specific information on the reasons why positive social reactions are important and negative social reactions can be harmful, examples of what to say and what not to say (including ways to promote healthy coping and discourage unhealthy coping, e.g., drinking to cope), opportunities for roleplay, and an emphasis on the importance of self-care and ways in which self-care can be balanced with the needs of IPV and SA victims.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: Randomized control intervention trial with a wait-list control condition, randomized at the individual level
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Sexual Violence; Interpersonal Violence; Prevention; Mixed-Methods; Randomized Controlled Trial; Outcome Evaluation; College Students; Post-traumatic Stress Disorder; Alcohol; Sexual Assault; Disclosure; Social Reactions; Coping; Depression; Intervention