Citation

Rau TJ, Merrill LL, McWhorter SK, Stander VA, Thomsen CJ, Dyslin CW, Crouch JL, Rabenhorst MM, Milner JS. Mil. Med. 2011; 176(10): 1178-1183.

Affiliation

Research, Development and Performance Management, Navy Fleet and Family Support Program, Navy Installations Command, Millington Detachment, 5720 Integrity Drive, Millington, TN 38055-6510, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Association of Military Surgeons of the United States)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

22128655

Abstract

The U.S. Navy Sexual Assault Intervention Training (SAIT) program for women was evaluated in a randomized clinical trial. The SAIT uses multiple presentation modalities (lecture, slides, discussion, film) to provide information related to sexual assault, including risk factors, consequences, prevention, and relevant military regulations. Female personnel who had completed basic training (N = 550) participated in the SAIT or a Comparison condition, and then completed measures of rape knowledge, empathy for rape victims, and acceptance of rape myths (false beliefs about rape justifying sexual violence). Results showed that the SAIT increased factual knowledge about rape. In addition, the SAIT increased empathy with rape victims in some groups of women. However, the program did not reduce women's rape myth acceptance. Given the enormity of the problem of sexual assault and these promising initial findings, additional research on the efficacy of the SAIT is clearly warranted.

Language: en