An Evaluation of an Online Sexual Assault Resistance Program (IDEA3)
ConditionSexual Assault
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age17-24
SponsorUniversity of Maryland, College Park
About this trial
The goal of this randomized trial is to test whether the Internet-Delivered Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act (IDEA3) sexual assault resistance education intervention reduces sexual violence victimization in undergraduate women.
Participants in the intervention group will be asked to attend four three-hour group sessions of a sexual assault resistance program called IDEA3 with a partner, as well as fill out a number of surveys. Participants in the control group will be asked to attend a one-hour consent workshop with a partner and fill out surveys.
Researchers will compare sexual assault victimization between the groups in the one year following the intervention.
Eligibility criteria
This trial accepts healthy volunteersQualifiers
1st- and 2nd-year university students at one of the 4 sites
female-identifying students
students between ages of 17-24
able to attend one of the scheduled program groups
Disqualifiers
None
Trial design
Design model
Parallel
Treatments tested in this trial
IDEA3 Sexual Assault Resistance Intervention
BehavioralInternet-delivered EAAA (IDEA3), adapted from an in-person sexual assault resistance education intervention: Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act (EAAA) intervention that was found in a randomized trial to reduce sexual assault victimization by about 50% at follow-up. IDEA3 designed for female identifying university students and focuses on resisting sexual assault committed by males in 4, 3-hour units: 1-ASSESS builds ability to detect risk with male acquaintances and develop risk reduction strategies. 2-ACKNOWLEDGE explores overcoming emotional barriers preventing women from acknowledging risk and employing effective resistance strategies with males. 3-ACT shows effectiveness of resistance strategies and teaches verbal and physical self-defense in common situations. 4-RELATIONSHIPS \& SEXUALITY adapts the Our Whole Lives curriculum to increase women's comfort in talking about sex/sexuality and identify sexual values/desires.
Consent Workshop
BehavioralParticipant pairs assigned to the control arm will receive a 60-minute session consisting of a 60-min interactive, virtual consent workshop. The workshop will include information on a) what consent is, including the idea that consent is about bodily autonomy and applies to interactions beyond sex, b) how to give and ask for consent, and c) examples of what it looks like to ask for and give/not give consent. This presentation will be given by a well-trained Research Assistant.
Treatment groups
1,920 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groupsGroup A: IDEA3 sexual assault resistance interventionExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Group B: Consent workshopActive comparator 1 intervention
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Completed rape
The Sexual Experiences Survey Short Form Victimization (SES-SFV) will be used to measure the primary sexual assault outcomes. Completed rape will have occurred when a participant indicates she has had at least one experience of threatened, forced, or drugged completed (not attempted) sexual activity (oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse - answered 'once' or more to any of 9 questions (2c, 2d, 2e, 3c, 3d, 3e, 4c, 4d, or 4e) in the period between the baseline measurement and the 12-month survey measurement.
Time frame
Baseline, 1-week post-intervention, 6-months and 12-months after randomizationSecondary outcomes
1
Attempted rape
The SES-SFV will also be used to measure secondary sexual assault outcomes: Attempted rape will have occurred when a participant indicates she has had at least one experience of threatened, forced, or drugged attempted (not completed) sexual activity (oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse - answered 'once' or more to any of 9 questions (5c, 5d, 5e, 6c, 6d, 6e, 7c, 7d, or 7e) in the period between the baseline and the 12-month survey.
Time frame
Baseline, 1-week post-intervention, 6-months and 12-months after randomization2
Other Forms of Sexual Assault
The SES-SFV will also be used to measure other sexual assault outcomes: Non-penetrative forced sexual contact will have occurred when a participant indicates she has had at least one such experience of non-penetrative sexual contact by any perpetrator strategy - answered 'once' or more to any of 5 questions (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e). Completed sexual coercion will have occurred when a participant indicates she has had at least one experience of coerced (not forced) completed sexual activity (oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse - answered 'once' or more to any of 6 questions (2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b). Attempted sexual coercion will have occurred when a participant indicates she has had at least one experience of coerced (not forced) attempted (not completed) sexual activity (oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse - answered 'once' or more to any of 6 questions (5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b).
Time frame
Baseline, 1-week post-intervention, 6-months and 12-months after randomizationOther outcomes
1
Self-defense self-efficacy
Measured with a questionnaire to assess changes from baseline in women's confidence that they could defend themselves if confronted with a sexual assault situation.
Time frame
Baseline, 1-week post-intervention, 6-months and 12-months after randomization2
Perception of personal risk
A single item will be used to measure women's perception of their personal risk of sexual assault by male acquaintances.
Time frame
Baseline, 1-week post-intervention, 6-months and 12-months after randomization3
Detection of risk cues
Participants' ability to detect risk in hypothetical assault scenarios will be assessed at the first time point by a measure in which participants read a scenario and then complete a subscale assessing their perception of the situation. At the other time points a measure will be used in which an acquaintance (6-mos) and stranger (12-mos) vignette unfolds line by line and the point at which participants indicate they would become uncomfortable and when they would leave the scenario are recorded. Receiving the same scenario/vignette more than once invalidates the measures.
Time frame
1-week post-intervention, 6-months and 12-months after randomization4
Willingness to use Effective Self-Defense Strategies
Using the same vignettes participants read to assess the Detection of Risk Cues outcome, the Direct Resistance scale of an untitled measure developed by Testa et al (2006) will be used to assess participants' willingness to use effective self-defense strategies at different points while reading a vignette of a sexual assault scenario.
Time frame
1-week post-interventionSponsors and contacts
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
University of Maryland, College Park
Lead sponsor
University of Windsor
Collaborator
University of Nebraska
Collaborator
University of Guelph
Collaborator
Tufts University
Collaborator
University of Central Florida
Collaborator
University of Michigan
Collaborator
Source ClinicalTrials.gov