Clinical trial NCT06875284: Evaluating Cross-Cutting Prevention at the U.S. Air Force Academy
Official title: Evaluating Cross-Cutting Sexual Assault and Alcohol Misuse Prevention Programming at the U.S. Air Force Academy
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Sexual Assault
Alcohol Misuse
Keywords: Sexual assault prevention
Alcohol misuse prevention
Sexual Communication and Consent
eCHECKUP TO GO
Lead sponsor: RTI International
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity
name: U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command
name: University of Florida
name: San Diego State University
name: United States Department of Defense
First posted: 2025-03-13
Enrollment: 2041
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 17
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Quasi-experimental trial
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: Sexual assault and alcohol misuse are interrelated, persist at high rates in military populations, and carry negative consequences for military units and personnel. Combining tailored efforts to prevent sexual assault and alcohol misuse is critical for developing a more effective Force. This study will test the cross-cutting immediate and long-term outcomes of two programs, the Sexual Communication and Consent (SCC) sexual assault prevention program and the eCHECKUP TO GO alcohol misuse prevention program, delivered separately and in combination, with Cadets at the United States Air Force Academy. Anonymous Cadet self-report data will be collected before training (pre-test), immediately after training (post-test), 3 months after training (Fall semester follow-up), and 9 months after training (Spring semester follow-up).

Detailed description: Sexual assault and alcohol misuse both persist at high rates among military populations. These behaviors interfere with readiness, unit cohesion, mission objectives, and personnel performance and retention. There are demonstrated associations between sexual assault and alcohol misuse for both perpetrators and victims of sexual assault. Therefore, combining efforts to prevent sexual assault and alcohol misuse is critical for more effective and efficient programming. Moreover, tailored prevention programming that addresses individual risks and experiences related to sexual assault and alcohol misuse is likely to be the most effective programming. Unfortunately, to date, no evidence-based cross-cutting interventions have been developed and evaluated for impacts on both sexual assault and alcohol misuse among military populations. Several challenges impede this effort. Sexual assault prevention and alcohol misuse prevention are typically managed in different organizations within military settings, including within Military Service Academies. Training settings face many competing demands for trainees' time and instructor capacity, and instructors' ability to provide both sexual assault-related and alcohol-related training varies widely. Despite the promise of tailored training, individualized programming also presents feasibility challenges in group education settings common to military training. In alignment with the FY21-FY25 DoD Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Research Agenda and DoD's desire to have cross-cutting prevention programs that reduce risk for multiple harmful behaviors, the long-term goal of the proposed work is to address these challenges and provide the military with flexible, engaging, tailored prevention programming that reduces sexual assault and alcohol misuse while minimizing burden on Service members and training settings. To that end, the basic objective of this study is to test the cross-cutting immediate and long-term outcomes of two programs, the Sexual Communication and Consent (SCC) sexual assault prevention program and the eCHECKUP TO GO alcohol misuse prevention program, delivered separately and in combination, with Cadets at the United States Air Force Academy. Anonymous Cadet self-report data will be collected before training (pre-test), immediately after training (post-test), 3 months after training (Fall semester follow-up), and 9 months after training (Spring semester follow-up).

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* U.S. Air Force Academy Basic Cadet enrolled in 2022 or 2023 Basic Cadet Training

Exclusion Criteria:

* Unable or unwilling to provide informed consent

Primary outcomes:
measure: Self-reported sexual assault victimization
timeFrame: From pre-test to Spring semester follow-up, an average of 10 months
measure: Self-reported sexual assault perpetration
timeFrame: From pre-test to Spring semester follow-up, an average of 10 months
measure: Self-reported alcohol use
timeFrame: From pre-test to Spring semester follow-up, an average of 10 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Knowledge of sexual assault
timeFrame: From pre-test to post-test, an average of 1 month
measure: Knowledge of effective consent
timeFrame: From pre-test to post-test, an average of 1 month
measure: Self-efficacy to resist unwanted sexual advances
timeFrame: From pre-test to post-test, an average of 1 month
measure: Normative perceptions of peer alcohol use
timeFrame: From pre-test to post-test, an average of 1 month
measure: Readiness to change alcohol use behavior
timeFrame: From pre-test to post-test, an average of 1 month
measure: Dating-related protective strategy use
timeFrame: From pre-test to Spring semester follow-up, an average of 10 months
measure: Alcohol-related protective strategy use
timeFrame: From pre-test to Spring semester follow-up, an average of 10 months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Air Force Academy
country: United States
facility: United States Air Force Academy
state: Colorado
Study officials:
affiliation: RTI International
name: Marni L Kan, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: University of Florida
name: Nichole M Scaglione, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: San Diego State University
name: Emily A Schmied, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Goldstein SJ, Scaglione NM, Kan ML, Grimes KEL, Lane ME, Morgan JK, Martin SL. Accuracy, Acceptability, and Burden of an Integrated Screening Approach to Facilitate the Delivery of Tailored Sexual Assault Prevention in the U.S. Air Force. J Child Sex Abus. 2024 Jun 14:1-21. doi: 10.1080/10538712.2024.2364792. Online ahead of print.
citation: Eckhoff R, Boyce M, Watkins RL, Kan M, Scaglione N, Pound L, Root M. Examining the Use of Mobile Technology to Deliver Tailored Sexual Assault Prevention in a Classroom Environment in the Military: Development and Usability Study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2022 Nov 16;10(11):e41455. doi: 10.2196/41455.
citation: Kan ML, Scaglione NM, Buben A, Morgan JK, Grimes KEL, Watson CJ, Charm S, Lowe AN, Eckhoff RP, Lane M, Root MK, Pound LB. Feasibility and acceptability of tailored sexual assault prevention in the US Air Force. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2024 Nov 21;10(1):145. doi: 10.1186/s40814-024-01565-6.