Piloting ProHealth: A Program for Male Soldiers on Sex, Dating and Alcohol-Use at Fort Bragg

Research has shown that one beneficial preliminary step to sexual assault prevention is the examination of a population's social norms pertaining to sex, dating, and alcohol- use. Studies show that the social norms surrounding these behaviors can be risk factors that increase the likelihood that certain high-risk men will perpetrate sexual assault. Among college-age men, research on social norms has been used to inform the development of a sexual assault prevention program that positively impacts high-risk men. A hallmark of this approach is its exploration of the climate of a given population with regard to sex, dating and alcohol-use, and its use of data gathered to inform the development of a sexual assault program. Researchers have yet to study the effectiveness of this approach in the U.S. Army. It has been well documented that sexual assault in the Army carries a significant threat to the readiness of the force. As such, the Army continues to make strong and laudable efforts to reduce sexual assault. However, there remains a need to better understand how young at-risk men behave in the social situations where sexual assault can occur and what they subjectively believe about these behaviors in order to effectively reduce perpetration. In order to fill this gap, the investigators propose to implement a sexual assault prevention program by using social norms and bystander approach concepts via surveys, interviews and group workshops. The data and feedback from this research have the potential to produce insight that could help leaders and the investigators more effectively promote health in male Soldiers' dating and sexual relationships.