Better Drinking Buddies: a pilot intervention to prevent violence by reducing alcohol consumption of potential...

This study pilot tested a novel intervention prototype that combined bystander training to prevent sexual violence with brief alcohol intervention.

40 heavy drinking young adult undergraduates.

Students completed 1 two-hour psychoeducational group intervention and were assessed at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and a 4 wk later.

Groups were completed in 2 h; 88% of students rated the group as excellent. Students had increased sexual violence knowledge (η² = .36), alcohol knowledge (η² = .32), and bystander intentions (η² = .11); and reduced alcohol consumption (η² = .11), and perceived drinking norms (η² = .14).

This intervention has potential to reduce sexual violence on college campuses by (1) moderating drinking behaviors of potential bystanders and (2) training students to use bystander strategies within heavy drinking context that has high risk for sexual violence. Future research should test this intervention in a larger controlled trial.