A Mixed Media Campaign to Promote Bystander Intervention and Reduce Alcohol Use Among College Students: A Pilot Study

By Anne Marie Schipani-McLaughlin, PhD, MPH

Sexual assault is a serious public health problem on college campuses, and 1 in 4 U.S. college women are sexually assaulted during their time in college. Alcohol use among students is a major risk factor for sexual assault victimization. Third-party “bystanders” are often present and drinking alcohol in settings such as at bars or parties, in which sexual assault is at risk of occurring during or after the event. The bystander model, which encourages individuals to step in and intervene to prevent sexual assault, is used extensively and effectively in campus sexual assault prevention.

However, alcohol reduces the likelihood of bystander intervention, especially in settings involving alcohol use like bars and parties. While existing programs have been successful in increasing bystander intervention intentions and behaviors, many do not address bystanders’ alcohol use and the role it can play in intervention. Though effective, many bystander programs are held in person, can be time- and resource-intensive, and reach a limited number of college students at a time. Researchers and advocates have called for more community-level interventions addressing campus sexual assault, but few exist.

A social marketing campaign is a community-level strategy that can reach a large number of college students. This approach goes beyond the individual level by diffusing health promotion messages to an entire community instead of delivering a prevention program to individuals. Some social marketing campaigns on bystander intervention exist and are effective but are missing a key element: social media. Social media is an efficient way to reach a large audience and is widely used among college students. College students also may be using social media when they are out socializing and drinking alcohol in bars and at parties, where bystander intervention might be needed.

To assess the role that social media can play in encouraging bystander intervention, my colleagues and I conducted a pilot study to create and evaluate a theory-based mixed media campaign called Be a Watch Dawg. The eight-week campaign aimed to increase bystander intervention (e.g., stepping in when someone is uncomfortable, telling someone if their drink was spiked) and decrease alcohol use among bystanders so they could be more aware of situations where sexual assault is at risk in their environment. It was implemented on a Southeastern U.S. college campus and used in-person delivery methods, including posters, bus ads and handbills, as well as social media (i.e., Facebook, Instagram and Twitter). The campaign included messages on bystander intervention strategies and modeled ways to intervene in college students’ social settings.

Results of the pilot study were promising and support the use of the Be a Watch Dawg campaign to promote bystander intervention, regardless of alcohol use, among college students. Social media analytics indicate the campaign reached a wide audience, specifically 39,466 social media users. Compared to pre-campaign, the post-campaign sample had increased bystander intervention behaviors. Findings from this pilot study indicate the Be a Watch Dawg campaign may be a promising community-based strategy to promote bystander intervention among college students, thus filling a gap in campus sexual assault prevention. The goal of a campaign like Be a Watch Dawg is to be implemented on a college campus in tandem with individual-level programs like web-based programs or other in-person sexual assault prevention training programs that students attend. Comprehensive, multi-level interventions are considered the gold standard for campus sexual assault prevention. Our findings suggest that in the future, community-level campaigns should be implemented in tandem with individual-level programs on college campuses for optimal sexual assault prevention.

Article Details
A Mixed Media Campaign to Promote Bystander Intervention and Reduce Alcohol Use Among College Students: A Pilot Study
Anne Marie Schipani-McLaughlin, PhD, MPH, Laura F. Salazar, PhD, Jessica L. Muilenburg, PhD, MPH, Carolyn Lauckner, PhD, Andrea Swartzendruber, PhD, MPH, and Deanna Walters, PhD, MEd
First published online July 31, 2021
DOI: 10.1177/15248399211027542
Health Promotion Practice

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