Abstract
This study investigates the individual differences in bystander intent to help a potential victim of party rape. The potential victim was described as an intoxicated woman who was escorted by an apparently sober man into a back bedroom. Undergraduate students at a small liberal arts college (N = 209, 76.1% women) read the description and responded to measures of intent to help, barriers to helping, and rape myth acceptance. As expected, intent to help correlated negatively with barriers to helping and rape myth acceptance. Also as expected, men reported less intent to help, perceived more barriers to helping, and accepted more rape myths than women. Multivariate analyses showed that the gender difference n intent to help was mediated by barriers to helping but not rape myth acceptance. Bystander education programs that explicitly address barriers to helping, including skills deficits and audience inhibition, may be more effective in engaging bystanders to prevent sexual assault.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Leyna
(2016)
"Are Gender Differences in Bystander Intent to Help a Potential Victim of Party Rape Mediated by Barriers to Help, Rape Myth Acceptance, or Both?,"
Proceedings of GREAT Day: Vol. 2015, Article 13.
Available at:
https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/proceedings-of-great-day/vol2015/iss1/13