University of Maryland, College Park
The goal of this study is to understand if the Internet-Delivered Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act (IDEA3) sexual assault resistance program works to prevent intimate partner violence in undergraduate women. Participants who were in a prior trial by the study team (the IDEA3 parent trial) and joined in September 2024 or later will be invited to also join this study at the conclusion of the parent study. Participants in this study will fill out one additional survey. Researchers will compare intimate partner violence victimization between the control group and the intervention group.
About 1 in 4 undergraduate women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) before graduation, and 1 in 5 women experience sexual assault (SA). IPV and SA are linked to academic or professional consequences for women who are victimized in college, including decreased class attendance, difficulty concentrating on schoolwork, withdrawing from classes, and dropping out of higher education entirely. The Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act (EAAA) program is the only intervention proven to reduce the one-year incidence of campus SA in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) by 50%. A trial sub-study showe…
Inclusion Criteria: Enrolled in the IDEA3 parent study in September 2024 or later and completed the 12 month survey for the parent trial Original inclusion criteria for the parent trial: * 1st- and 2nd-year university students at one of the 4 sites * female-identifying students * students between ages of 17-24 at the time of enrollment into the parent trial * able to attend one of the scheduled program groups * able and willing to be matched with another eligible student Exclusion Criteria: * None
Internet-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.
Participant 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.