Background: Conservative figures estimate that 1 out of 4 American women and 50% of college women in the United States have been sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Twenty percent of American men report having perpetrated a sexual assault (25% of college men) and 5% report having committed rape (8% of college men). Most sexual assaults and rapes on college campuses occur by someone known to the victim and they may involve alcohol. Understanding students' baseline knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding sexual assault, will enable educators to focus their intervention strategies to raise awareness, address attitudes about the issues, and encourage risk reduction strategies.
Research Design: A post-test control research design was employed using a preliminary version of the 40 item M'Cormack KAB Sexual Assault Survey. The survey was adapted from elements of the Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, College Date Rape Attitude and Behavior Survey (CDRABS), Attitudes toward Rape Victim Scale and Attitudes Toward Rape Questionnaire The survey was distributed to a convenient sample of university students enrolled in introductory core curriculum 101 classes. The survey contained 16 knowledge items, 13 attitude items and 11 behavior items.
Results: Instrument reliability were as follows: knowledge (KR-20=0.53), attitude (Cronbach's α =0.80), behavior portion (Cronbach's α=0.95). The intervention group and women were significantly more likely to know more about sexual assault and were less supportive of sexual assault myths. There were no statistical differences between the intervention and control group's risk reducing behaviors or between men's and women's risk reducing strategies for sexual assault in the 90 days prior to the study. Students were more likely to agree with attitude items that enforced myths that were victim blaming.
Conclusion: Test re-test reliability should be the next step with this survey using a much larger sample. Also, a follow-up post-test more than 90 days following the original post test should be conducted to evaluate intervention. Based on the results for these students, interventions should focus on addressing myths and stereotypes that are victim blaming.