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ABSTRACT
Objective: This study assessed the recall of, reaction to, and understanding of a brief campus banner campaign promoting consent in sexual relationships, and determined whether campaign exposure was associated with subsequent engagement in activities related to sexual assault education, awareness, and prevention. Participants: A stratified random sample of 1,200 undergraduates was recruited during fall of 2010; 628 (52.3%) participated. Methods: To account for history and maturation, an experimental research design was employed with an online survey. Results: Direct and indirect campaign exposure was associated with increased action. Students expressed primarily positive reactions to and appeared to understand the consent message. The campaign appealed to and was associated with increased activity among a wide range of students with one exception: a negative effect was observed for business students. Conclusions: Colorful banners with pithy, upbeat messages hold promise for engaging undergraduates in conversations and proactive activities related to sexual assault prevention.
KEYWORDS:
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Charles Hall, who created the banners, and Susan Putnins, who helped code the qualitative data.
Conflict of interest disclosure
The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of the University of Pennsylvania.
Funding
No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.
Notes
* The creator of the banners greeted this news with enthusiasm, inferring that if someone liked the banner so much that he or she stole it, he had been successful. His hope is that it hangs in a fraternity for years.
† All 3 authors participated in counting pedestrians on multiple days during the noon hour so as to obtain the most accurate estimate of foot traffic (ie, potential exposure to the banners).
‡ Prior research using online surveys with undergraduates have obtained response rates ranging from 18% to 42.2%.Citation4,Citation46,Citation47