The Influence of University Sub-Group Identification and Social Norms about Sexual Assault on Disclosure Response Efficacy

Presented at Poster Session 4 in the Regency Ballroom

Although most bystander intervention programs on university campuses give students the tools to call out harmful social norms (Bennett et al., 2014), it’s also important to educate students about how to respond when their peers disclose a sexual assault to them. The first time a victim discloses their sexual assault to a peer, that peer’s response is often a determining factor in whether the victim feels motivated to seek positive mental and physical health outcomes for themselves (Chaudoir & Fisher, 2010). Sexual assault victims can experience negative mental and physical health outcomes (Hawks et al., 2019). Such outcomes can be predicted by active concealment, which may occur if victims feel stigmatized by the disclosure response of a peer and choose not to report the assault (Campbell et al., 2001; Quinn et al., 2015). Disclosure response efficacy refers to an individuals’ confidence in his or her own ability to respond effectively after a peer has disclosed a sexual assault to them. Normative behavior theory and social identity theory help explain the relationship between descriptive and injunctive norms and college students’ disclosure response efficacy (Rimal & Real, 2005; Tajfel, 1982). Injunctive norms are misperceptions about peers’ attitudes towards a behavior, and descriptive norms are misperceptions about behavior prevalence among peers (Rimal & Real, 2003). Universities could use the social norms approach to health promotion to address college students’ perceptions of how they should respond to sexual assault disclosures (Perkins, 2003; Berkowitz, 2005). We hypothesize: H1: Injunctive norms about sexual assault will influence efficacy in responding to a peer who discloses a sexual assault. H2: Descriptive norms about sexual assault will influence efficacy in responding to a peer who discloses a sexual assault. Group identification refers to when individuals begin to identify with and perceive themselves to be similar with and share the same goals as a group (Tajfel, 1982). Group identification with on-campus sub-groups could moderate college students’ perceptions of social norms (Rimal & Real, 2003), including social norms that pertain to sexual assault. College students’ group identification with their university (Livingstone et al., 2011) and with student organizations (Dorsey et al., 1999) have been found to influence their injunctive and descriptive norms. We hypothesize: H3: Identification with a student organization will affect the relationship between injunctive norms about sexual assault and efficacy in responding to a peer who discloses a sexual assault. H4: Identification with a student organization will affect the relationship between descriptive norms about sexual assault and efficacy in responding to a peer who discloses a sexual assault. A survey (n = 311) was conducted during the Fall 2021 semester to better understand what characteristics or misperceptions affect individuals’ self-efficacy with responding appropriately to a peer who has disclosed a sexual assault. This study should promote the well-being of sexual assault victims by informing future interventions that provide students with effective communication strategies for responding to sexual assault disclosures. This data set will be analyzed this December, and full results will be presented at the conference if accepted.