The Effectiveness of Two Types of Rape Prevention Programs in Changing the Rape-Supportive Attitudes of College Students.

Investigation of the effectiveness of two rape prevention programs in changing college students' rape-supportive attitudes indicates that both interventions were effective in reducing rape- supportive attitudes at an immediate posttest, but that attitudes rebounded over time.

Abstract

The current study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of two rape prevention programs in changing college students' rape-supportive attitudes. Male and female undergraduates (N = 215) were assigned to one of three conditions: an interactive mock talk show intervention, a structured video intervention, or a control group. Participants in this study were predominantly Caucasian and ranged in age from 18 to 42 years old, with a mean age of 20 years old. Participants' rape-supportive attitudes were measured before the intervention, at an immediate posttest, and at a seven week follow-up using Burt's (1980) Rape Myth Acceptance Scale and a revised version of Field's (1978) Attitudes Toward Rape Scale, developed by Harrison, Downes, and Williams (1991). Results indicate that both interventions were effective in reducing rape-supportive attitudes at an immediate posttest, but that attitudes rebounded over time. Women endorsed fewer rape-supportive beliefs than men, and participants who knew a victim of rape demonstrated less adherence to rape-supportive attitudes at each assessment than did participants who did not know a victim of rape. Implications for future rape prevention programming are discussed.