General Outcomes of Bystander Action Scale: Factor Structure and Utility in Predicting Future Bystander Behaviors

Many universities have implemented bystander training programs to prevent relationship violence and sexual assault. Such programs encourage students to engage in behaviors to prevent interpersonal violence (i.e., bystander behaviors) if they witness situations that seem likely to escalate to violence. Bystander behaviors, however, often result in consequences, both positive and negative, for those who engage in them. Measures of consequences of bystander behaviors are starting to appear in the literature, but there is limited psychometric information for these measures. The current study examined psychometric properties of the General Outcomes of Bystander Actions Scale (GOBAS) by (a) attempting to replicate the original two-factor structure of the scale and (b) evaluating its criterion validity by examining its relation to future bystander behaviors. First-year undergraduate students (N = 730) were recruited into the study in 2016. Students completed the GOBAS at baseline. Students also completed a measure of bystander behaviors at baseline and at a 2-month follow-up assessment. Confirmatory factor analyses replicated the two-factor structure of the GOBAS only when items were scored dichotomously. Unexpectedly, after controlling for baseline bystander behaviors and other established correlates of bystander behaviors, negative consequences were related to more frequent bystander behaviors at the 2-month follow-up, while positive consequences were not. Findings support the two-factor structure of the GOBAS when items measure the occurrence of consequences. The findings, however, raise questions about the role of consequences in predicting future bystander behaviors.