Sexual violence on college campuses is a significant concern, with research indicating that approximately one-third of female students and one-tenth of male students may experience it during their college years. The risk is higher for college women nationwide, and the impact on physical and mental health is substantial. Studies often highlight…

Identifying developmental patterns in intergroup contact and its relation with bias is crucial for improving prevention strategies around intergroup relations. This study applied time-varying effects modeling (TVEM) to examine age-based changes in relations between contact and bias in a divided community that included 667 youth (M age = 15.74, SD…

Background: Sexual violence (SV) prevalence remains high among U.S. college campuses; prevention strategies may benefit from addressing socially oppressive beliefs, including racism, sexism, and heterosexism that all directly link to attitudes and beliefs related to SV. Aims: The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential efficacy of a…

The thinking underlying people's positions on complex issues is often of limited scope or complexity, yet changing minds is notoriously difficult. We investigated the thinking underlying people's positions on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Rather than seek to influence their thinking by engaging them in considering alternative…

Objective: Evaluate effectiveness of a university-wide social norms marketing campaign to reduce high-risk drinking and its consequences among students at MSU. Participants: Campaign messages regarding descriptive and injunctive norms were distributed campus-wide from 2001 to 2014 to correct norm misperceptions. Methods: Random samples of students…

This study investigated attitudes toward restrictive gender norms among adolescents in Côte d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone (pooled N = 1,793, M[subscript age(baseline)] = 10.3, M[subscript age(follow-up)] = 11.6, 50% boys/girls). We examined individual and contextual predictors of gender attitudes, assessed change in gender attitudes over 2 years, and…

The non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) among college students is escalating at an alarming rate. A limited number of studies have utilized a theoretical framework to influence this behavior. To utilize the reasoned-action approach theory to design and evaluate a web-based intervention to influence students' attitudes, perceived norms…

Perceived social norms are routinely observed as positive predictors of indoor tanning. Past research has suggested that messaging interventions target normative perceptions to reduce indoor tanning behavior. Despite this call, little empirical research has investigated the utility of taking a social norms approach in behavioral interventions. The…

Background: Evidence on the effects of contact and education based interventions on attitudes is limited in the intellectual disability field. This study compared the effects of brief interventions with different education, indirect and imagined contact components on lay people's attitudes. Materials and Methods: 401 adult participants were…

We used Allport's (1954) intergroup contact theory as a framework to test the effectiveness of 2 vicarious contact interventions on improving attitudes toward undocumented immigrants. The first intervention was DREAMzone, a 4-hr ally certification workshop. The second intervention was a 30-min documentary film chronicling the stories of 5…

Social labeling of people with behavioral health disorders falls under the umbrella of "stigma" and plays a key role in limiting the access to behavioral healthcare. Currently, the U.S. spends an estimated $201B on behavioral health disorders every year, making it the number one most expensive medical condition. In any given year, 43.8M…

Background: Peer crowds are macro-level, reputation-based subcultures with shared preferences, values, and behavior. The Country peer crowd has been the focus of tobacco industry research and marketing but has yet to be the primary focus of public health research. The current study explores the utility of "Down and Dirty," a "Social…

The present study focuses on the development of intercultural values and attitudes in a linguistically homogeneous groups of students in the nation of Georgia. The aim of the research was to study: (1) intercultural values (valuing cultural diversity) and attitudes (openness to cultural otherness and to other beliefs, worldviews and practices) of…

This paper details findings from an evaluation of a gender-transformative sexual and reproductive health and rights group education programme facilitated with young men aged 15-24 years in South Africa. A total of 475 young men participated in the group education programme. A self-administered pre- and post-questionnaire survey was conducted with…

This paper is based on a quasi-experimental study which examines the effects of a school-based intervention on Omani girls' attitudes towards the notion of gender equality. A questionnaire was administered before and after the intervention to 241 girls (116 in the experimental group; 125 in the control group). A semi-structured interview was…