Development and Pilot Trial of an Intervention to Reduce Disclosure Recipients Negative Social Reactions and Victims Psychological Distress and Problem Drinking

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Project Summary Intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual assault (SA) are public health issues among college students that can lead to problem drinking and related deleterious outcomes (e.g., depression). A robust predictor of undesirable victim outcomes is negative social reactions to disclosure (e.g., disbelieving the victim). To date, however, there is no intervention that specifically targets potential recipients of IPV and SA disclosure to inform them of the best methods for responding to an IPV or SA disclosure. The purpose of the proposed study is to test an intervention (Supporting Survivors and Self [SSS] developed by Edwards [PI] and colleagues) created for potential informal support disclosure recipients. The SSS intervention provides individuals with information on the reasons why positive social reactions are important and why negative social reactions can be harmful, examples of what to say and not to say, opportunities for role play, and an emphasis on the importance of self-care and ways in which self-care can be balanced with the needs of IPV and SA victims. Given the key role that alcohol plays in risk for and outcomes associated with IPV and SA—especially among college students (the targeted audience of this intervention)—the role of alcohol in risk for and outcomes associated with IPV and SA, including alcohol-specific social reactions, is addressed in the SSS intervention. The proposed study seeks to further develop and manualize the SSS intervention. Additionally, we seek to conduct a rigorous pilot examination of the effects of SSS intervention. Young adults from a medium-sized New England university will be (a) randomly selected from the college population, (b) invited to participate in baseline surveys, (c) randomly assigned to participate in the SSS intervention or a wait-list control group, and (c) asked to complete a six-month follow-up survey. Participants who report at the six-month follow-up that they were the recipient of an IPV or SA disclosure will be asked to invite the victim who disclosed to them to participate in the research; victims who agree to participate will be asked to complete surveys. Analyses will determine if exposure to the SSS intervention compared to the control condition leads to increases in positive social reactions and decreases in negative social reactions in disclosure recipients, and reductions in problem drinking and related deleterious outcomes (e.g., depression) in victims. Mediators (e.g., victim empathy, encouragement of healthy coping behaviors) and moderators (e.g., demographics, victim use of alcohol at time of the assault) of SSS intervention effectiveness will be examined. College students were chosen as the targeted population given the high rates of IPV, SA, and problem drinking among this population. If shown to be effective, the SSS intervention could be adapted and implemented in a variety of settings beyond college campuses.