Thesis
The Role of Psychological Sense of Community in Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence on University Campuses
(2016)
Abstract
Sexual assault is a pervasive problem on college and university campuses across the United States. “One in five women is sexually assaulted in college” (White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault, 2014, p. 2). In response to this epidemic, the federal government has mandated that all institutions of higher education engage their campus community in programs that prevent sexual violence, particularly programs that focus on bystander intervention (McMahon, 2015, p. 46). In this mixed method study the correlation between psychological sense of community and bystander intervention was explored. The results indicate that scores on the SCI-2 to the BBS-R/BAS-R’s Proactive Opportunities subscale are positively correlated (rs = .329, n = 105, p < .001). The analysisof the second hypothesis was the correlation between SCI-2 to the BAS-R High-Risk subscale and a negative and statistically significant (rs = -.207, n = 107, p = .016) correlation was found. The third hypothesis analysed the total psychological sense of community index to the BII a positive correlation exists (rs = -.207, n = 102, p = .01) between psychological sense of community and the behavioral intent to intervene. Two goals were set for the qualitative analysis of this study: (1) To explore the reason for the quantitative observations using first-cycle deductive coding with a subsequence code relationship analysis, and (2) To build understanding about the connection between psychological sense of community and bystander intervention, exposing barriers and pathways to such actions. This study provides empirical evidence that the correlation between bystander intervention and psychological sense of community does exist.
Disciplines
Publication Date
Spring April 1, 2016
Degree
Master of Arts
Field of study
Community Psychology
Department
Psychology
Advisor
Reed M. Mueller, Ph.D.
Citation Information
Elizabeth G. Kennedy. "The Role of Psychological Sense of Community in Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence on University Campuses" (2016) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/r-mueller/21/