Evaluation of the Define It! Program for Raising Critically Conscious Bystander Behaviors.

Abstract

Across two studies with cohorts of undergraduate students who previously completed a bystander intervention program, a consciousness-raising intervention called Define It! was evaluated for its efficacy in increasing critically conscious intentions. Data were collected pre, post, and one-month using the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (IRMAS-SF; Payne et al., 1999) and Critically Conscious Bystander Scale (CCBS; Johnson et al., 2019). Following recommendations for novel intervention research by Rounsaville et al., we present our findings across two studies. Study 1 demonstrated that the program was feasible, acceptable, and specified the CCBS as an adequate measure of change. Study 2, (n = 38) randomly assigned student participants to control or intervention groups. Results demonstrated significant increases on CBBS for intervention participants compared to the control.