Helping Friends and Strangers in Risky Situations: Outcomes of Bystander Interventions for Sexual Assault and Dating Violence

The purpose of the present study was to examine young adults' decisions to help friends and strangers involved in potentially risky situations related to dating violence or sexual assault and assess their feelings about their decisions to intervene (or not intervene) and their overall psychosocial well-being. Five hundred and fifty-three college students (68.7% Female) were recruited from a large, public university in the southeastern United States to participate in the study. Through an online survey, participants were asked whether they witnessed four discrete events, what their relationship was to the victim in each event, whether they intervened (or did not intervene) in each event, positive and negative feelings about their decisions to intervene (or not intervene), and general anxiety and depression symptoms. Participants were more likely to have witnessed friends than strangers in risky events involving potential sexual assault or dating violence and were more likely to intervene with friends than strangers. Most bystanders (64%) reported positive feelings when they intervened regardless of their relationship to the victims, but 36% reported continued negative impact from such events. In addition, anxiety levels were higher for witnesses of friends than strangers. Results have implications for bystander training programs for college students.