Objective: The present study documented the extent to which Native American youth reported opportunities to intervene in situations of sexual assault and harassment, the types of behaviors that youth engaged in when given the opportunity to intervene, and whether youth were engaging in proactive behaviors to change social norms to be intolerant of these forms of aggression.
Method: Data come from a survey of 144 Native American middle and high school youth living on an Indian reservation.
Results: Analyses revealed that in the past 6 months, 59.1% of participants had opportunity to intervene in a sexual assault and harassment. Opportunity to intervene in sexual assault or harassment was associated with lower feelings of mattering and being older. Among participants who reported bystander opportunity to intervene in sexual assault or harassment, 26.3% reported engaging in positive bystander behavior (e.g., trying to get help or using distraction to help). A closer connection to culture was related to a higher likelihood of engaging in positive bystander action. Roughly half of the participants reported engaging in proactive bystander behavior (e.g., efforts to promote intolerance of these forms of aggression) even in the absence of opportunity. Older youth were more likely to engage in proactive bystander behavior than younger youth.
Conclusions: Bystander-focused programs may be an effective tool to prevent sexual harassment and sexual assault among Native American youth, especially those that include culturally relevant content that helps to strength connections to culture and equipping younger youth with skills to engage in proactive bystander behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).