RT Article
T1 Effectiveness of a Sexual Assault Self-defense Program for American Indian Girls
JF Journal of interpersonal violence
VO 37
IS 15/16
A1 Edwards, Katie M.
A2 Siller, Laura
A2 Wheeler, Lorey A.
A2 Charge, Leon Leader
A2 Charge, Damon P. Leader
A2 Bordeaux, Simone
A2 Herrington, Ramona
A2 Hopfauf, Skyler L.
A2 Simon, Briana
LA English
YR 2022
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1884205771
AB This study evaluated the effectiveness of a 6-session (12-hour) empowerment self-defense classroom delivered curriculum (i.e., IMpower) among American Indian girls. Girls (N?=?74) in one middle school and two high schools on an Indian Reservation in the Great Plains region of the United States received the intervention and completed a pre-test and a post-test six months following the final program session. The surveys administered assessed hypothesized intermediary (i.e., efficacy to resist a sexual assault, self-defense knowledge), primary (i.e., sexual violence victimization), and secondary (i.e., physical dating violence, sexual harassment) outcomes. Native American girls (N?=?181) in five middle schools and three high schools in a nearby city where there was no sexual assault prevention occurring completed surveys assessing sexual violence, physical dating violence, and sexual harassment victimization approximately six months apart, thus serving as a comparison to girls in the treatment condition on primary and secondary outcomes. Girls exposed to the IMpower program reported significant increases over time in efficacy to resist a sexual assault and knowledge of effective resistance strategies. Furthermore, propensity score analyses suggested that girls who received the IMpower program reported significantly fewer types of sexual assault and sexual harassment at follow-up compared to girls in the control condition. However, no effect was found for physical dating violence. These data suggest that empowerment self-defense is a promising approach in preventing sexual assault and sexual harassment among American Indian girls.
K1 American Indian
K1 Girls
K1 Resistance
K1 Self-defense
K1 Sexual Assault
K1 Sexual Violence
DO 10.1177/0886260521997942