ERIC Number: ED640012
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 128
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3805-9946-7
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Perceptions of Efficacy and Inclusivity of a Collegiate Sexual Violence Prevention Curriculum by Neurodivergent Students
Megan E. Peterson
ProQuest LLC, D.Ed. Dissertation, Gratz College
Colleges across the country are striving to ensure student safety, promote cultures of consent, and maintain compliance with the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act (Campus SaVE Act) through sexual violence prevention programs and education (Cox, 2018). These concepts are already complicated, but colleges and universities often gear their education and prevention programming towards a neurotypical population, despite a rapidly growing population of neurodivergent students (Cox et al., 2017). Research indicates that neurodiverse students -- specifically students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) -- are more likely to be a victim of sexual violence and more likely to be accused of sexual misconduct than their neurotypical peers, emphasizing a need for these types of education and prevention efforts to be more inclusive (Ballan & Freyer, 2017; Stone & Supler, 2018). The purpose of this study is to explore whether traditional collegiate sexual violence prevention programs and curriculum are perceived to be effective and inclusive by students with ASD. This phenomenological study utilized qualitative data from open-ended, in depth, semi-structured interviews with college students with ASD to evaluate student perceptions surrounding the efficacy and inclusivity of a sexual violence prevention program provided by the researcher. To qualify for participation in this study, participants must be enrolled as a degree-seeking college student. For a participant to have demonstrated the cognitive capacity necessary to matriculate into an institution of higher education, they also demonstrated their capacity to consent to research. To explore perceptions of programmatic efficacy and inclusivity, interview questions focused on how reflective the information presented in the program was of participants' own lived experiences and how applicable participants felt the concepts presented in the program would be to their own social interactions. Data from the participant interviews was analyzed through a framework of standpoint theory, using open and axial coding to develop a narrative describing the relationship between the identified categories and the significance as related to the participants' shared phenomenon experience. This narrative was used to evaluate whether a traditional collegiate sexual violence prevention program, as required through the Campus SaVE Act, was perceived to be effective and inclusive by students with ASD. This data was then used to provide evidence-based recommendations for improvements to ensure collegiate sexual violence prevention efforts appropriately accommodate the functional needs of all students, regardless of neurodivergent status. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: College Environment, School Safety, Sexual Abuse, Violence, Prevention, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Students with Disabilities, Victims, At Risk Students, Program Effectiveness, Inclusion, Student Attitudes
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A