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How Do We Know Someone Will Intervene? the Validation of a Survey Instrument Designed

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How Do We Know Someone Will Intervene? the Validation of a Survey Instrument Designed How do we know someone will intervene? The validation of a survey instrument designed to measure collegiate bystander intervention disposition Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Laura Stiltz Dahl Graduate Program in Educational Studies The Ohio State University 2019 Dissertation Committee Matthew J. Mayhew, Ph.D., Advisor Jerome D’Agostino, Ph.D. Cecilia Mengo, Ph.D. Copyrighted by Laura Stiltz Dahl 2019 Abstract Bystander intervention has emerged as a best-practice for combatting sexual violence on college and university campuses. Bystanders are those individuals who observe negative behavior and must decide whether to act in ways that benefit the perpetrator or victim, or do nothing. Although bystanders do not always act in ways which support the victim, proponents of bystander intervention education argue that equipping students with the knowledge, awareness, and skills to step in when they witness negative sexual behaviors will decrease instances of campus sexual violence as well as shift campus cultural norms. For the last decade, research and practice related to bystander intervention in collegiate contexts has been narrowly defined within the scope of sexual violence prevention, yet other types of violence are on the rise at colleges and universities across the United States. How do we know that students will intervene in these situations as well? This study attempts to address this need by examining a new instrument designed to measure bystander intervention disposition broadly across a variety of situations common to postsecondary contexts. It seeks to answer the following question: How can college student bystander intervention disposition be reliably and validly measured? This study draws on theories of educational measurement as well as frameworks for understanding violence and violence prevention, cognitive and moral decision-making, and identity development to investigate the reliability and validity of the instrument. Bystander intervention disposition is defined as one’s innate inclination to intervene on behalf of others when faced with negative behavior and is conceptualized as a continuous latent construct. i Respondents with high bystander intervention disposition should be willing to intervene on behalf of others in situations with high costs; respondents with low bystander intervention disposition should only intervene in those situations that they find it easy to do so. Students who responded to the 2018 administration of the Assessment of Collegiate Residential Environments and Outcomes (ACREO) were invited to read and respond to seven of 16 possible scenarios commonly found on college campuses in which negative behavior is exhibited by one or more parties. Upon reading each vignette, respondents were asked to rate their likelihood of engaging in a number of actions based on their relationship with the actors in the scenarios: knowing the victim, knowing the perpetrator, knowing other bystanders, and not knowing anyone at all. Items also spanned a variety of actions such as saying something at the time, saying something at a later time, getting others to intervene, and finding an authority figure to intervene. A total of 1,939 undergraduate students at one of three public universities responded to the items which comprise the bystander intervention disposition instrument. Rasch analysis using Wolfe and Smith’s (2007) framework was used to examine five aspects of Messick’s (1995) unified concept of construct validity. Item fit; rating scale functioning and theoretical predictions; principle component analysis on the standardized residuals; person fit, differential item functioning, and person reliability; and group comparisons and person-item maps provided evidence supporting the validity of this instrument. Discussion and implications are provided. ii To Stephen, D.B.M. Thank you for your unwavering love and support as I pursue my dreams. iii Acknowledgements If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants. – Sir Isaac Newton There are many people in my life who have helped make this project a reality. First and foremost, I would like to thank the wonderful members of my committee for their mentorship through this process. Dr. Jerry D’Agostino, although you joined this committee toward the end, your insight and knowledge of psychometrics and the process of validation have been invaluable. I am grateful for the conversations we have had about the Rasch model as well as starting my career as a faculty member. Dr. Cecilia Mengo, thank you for your willingness to share your content knowledge expertise and for challenging me to think more theoretically. I am a better scholar because of your encouragement and perspective. Finally, Dr. Matt Mayhew, my chair and advisor (and now friend), thank you for everything. Your mentorship these last four years has meant the world to me, and I am so thankful that we made the move to Columbus so I could continue to work with you. This dissertation also would not have happened without the work of Zach Hooten, who helped test and administer the ACREO surveys during the Spring 2018. Zach, you are an amazing co-worker and an even better friend. Thank you for joining CoIL and for doing a fabulous job taking over ACREO from me. It is in the best hands possible, and I can’t wait to see how you make it even better moving forward. Doctoral students are lucky when they have one cohort of peers to help them through this process; I won the lottery when I got two. To my NYU cohort – Alanna, Chris, James, Maurice, iv Paulina, Ray, Stephanie, Susan, and Tiffani – thank you for teaching me as much as you did during that first year. I will always miss our Saturday writing sessions in the East Building conference room. A special thanks to Chris Stipeck for his wonderful friendship that continued even when I moved away. I’m not sure I would have made it without you. To my OSU cohort – Antonio, Courtney, Kaity, Lane, Shannon, and Tiffany – thank you for letting me join you with open arms. It’s always difficult to transfer to a new school, and I could not have asked for a better group of people to encourage and support me during that transition and beyond. Thank you for making Columbus and Ohio State home. I am especially thankful for Antonio Duran, our social chair, who orchestrated most of our activities. You are a brilliant friend and scholar, and I look forward to working on many more projects with you. Finally, to Ashley Staples, my Ph.D. twin who was in both cohorts, thank you for making this transition with me. It would not have been the same without you. I am grateful for your always-available words of advice and your love of good beer and good coffee. I am also grateful to those friends and colleagues who have worked with me on various research projects over the last four years. Ben Selznick, you are a never-ended source of encouragement. Thank you for showing me what is possible. I look forward to the many papers and books we will co-author together. Ethan Youngerman, thank you for entrusting me with SILLP when I first got to NYU. From our bagel and pastrami excursion in Montreal to our golf- course run in Scottsdale, I have enjoyed hanging out with you and learning from your hilarious insight. My focus on bystander intervention in higher education has a lot to do with my conversations with both of you. I must also thank Dr. Becky Crandall, who has been a great teaching partner and a wonderful friend at Ohio State. Thank you to Drs. Zak Foste and Tiffani Polite, who helped me v with way more than just navigating OSU bureaucracy. Your support and encouragement have helped me more than you will ever know. A special shout out also goes to Jenn Sheridan, who has helped me immensely with all aspects of my doctoral work. Thank you for your organization and encouragement. I’m glad you said yes to our job offer, even if it was unexpected. To the IDEALS team at NC State, thank you for the opportunity to work with you on this awesome project. Dr. Alyssa Rockenbach, thank you for entrusting me with the dataset and analysis. It has been a pleasure to learn from you. Dr. Shauna Morin, thank you being the best postdoc/project manager for this team. We would be lost without you. Finally, to Helen, Kevin, and Lori, thank you for sharing your passion for this work. I have loved being on this team with you. Finally, this project would not have been possible without the love, support, encouragement, and understanding of my wonderful family. Mom and Dad, thank you for instilling in me a passion for education and learning. This dissertation is the fulfillment of a collective dream. To Stephanie, thank you for sending me notes of encouragement even though you were going through a rough time yourself. We both made it through! To the Dahls – Pat, Frank, Andrew, and Rebecca – thank you for allowing me the time and space to work over the holidays. I am forever grateful for your love and understanding. And lastly, many thanks to the love of my life, Stephen. You are the epitome of a true partner. Thank you for taking the leap and making the move to Columbus, even though it meant leaving your family and your career. Thank you for making me laugh when it got hard and taking me out for Jeni’s when it got harder. You have earned every part of your doctorate by marriage. I love you. vi Vita B.S. Applied Mathematics, Georgia Institute of Technology ....................................................2009 M.Ed. College Student Affairs Administration, The University of Georgia .............................2011 Director of Research Programs and Advising for Undergraduate Women in STEM, Douglass Residential College, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey ....
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