Latent Class Analyses of Bystander Strategies Against Campus Sexual Assault and Dating Violence

Despite the proliferation of bystander intervention education in campus gender-based violence prevention programming, little research has explored the constellation of behavioral strategies bystanders take to prevent harm. To better understand patterns of bystander strategies, we conducted a secondary data analysis of 2019 Association of American Universities campus climate survey data. We used latent class analysis and latent class multinomial regression on two analytic samples: students who acted as bystanders to prevent 1) sexual assault (n = 19,828) and 2) dating violence (n = 16,234). Sexual assault bystanders were categorized into four classes (victim-centered interveners, delegators, in-the-moment interveners, and versatile responders) and dating violence bystanders into two (multiple interveners and victim-centered interveners). Findings indicate bystanders who act directly and with more varied bystander strategies are more likely to have experienced sexual victimization, hold identities that put them at increased risk of being the target of marginalization, feel more connected to campus, and be more skeptical about campus responses to misconduct. We recommend campus prevention programs teach multiple methods to intervene across a range of harms, tailor approaches to the dynamics of differing forms of violence, attend to individual identities and their impact on bystanding, and seek to foster positive campus climates.