Development and Pilot Evaluation of an Online Intervention to Prevent Dating Violence and Problem Drinking in Sexual Minority Youth

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Project Summary Dating violence (DV) is strongly associated with alcohol use (AU), and both DV and AU occur at alarmingly high rates among sexual minority youth in part because of increased minority stress4,7,18 and decreased sense of community.19,20 Prevention programming that targets these two modifiable risk and protective factors (i.e., minority stress and sense of community) in conjunction with other evidence-based DV and AU components (e.g., bystander intervention, refusal skills, personalized normative feedback, protective behavior strategies) could ultimately reduce rates of DV and AU and related health risk behaviors (e.g., sexual risk-taking) among LGBTQ+ youth. The proposed project seeks to develop a new synchronous online DV and AU prevention initiative for LGBTQ+ youth (15 to 18 years old), preliminarily entitled Radicalizing Respect and Relationships (R3). The theoretically grounded R3 Prevention Initiative (R3-PI) follows best practices for effective health behavior prevention programming,13,14 and is expected to include eight 45-minute modules intended for delivery as an online, small group program. Following a Stage 1A and 1B model, during the Development Phase we will finalize and refine the R3-PI materials; these materials will be developed based on the project team’s expertise and knowledge of the extant literature, key informant feedback (i.e., LGBTQ+ youth advisory board, experts in the field), as well as feedback from youth during an open pilot trial. During the Pilot Study Phase, 200 LGBTQ+ youth who are dating will be recruited using social media and other online advertisements and randomly assigned to a wait-list control (n = 100) or R3-PI (n = 100) conditions. Pre-, immediate, and 3-month posttests will assess the acceptability of the study procedures (e.g., compliance with survey procedures) and generate initial data on the efficacy of the R3-PI. We will also assess acceptability and feasibility of the program and research procedures via post-session surveys, program observations, evaluations of adherence and drop-out rates, and online exit interviews with a subsample of youth (n = 15 or until saturation is achieved). Ultimately, the proposed project has the potential for high public health impact because we will develop the first-ever DV and AU prevention initiative specifically tailored for LGBTQ+ youth. Further, given the online delivery format of this intervention, it has the potential to reach LGBTQ+ youth across the U.S., including youth in rural and remote areas where rates of minority stress are highest and LGBTQ+ sense of community is lowest and where fewer resources to address risk and promote resilience are available.16