Sexual assault is a serious health issue for college women. Unfortunately, the results of previous research revealed that intervention programs designed for women have been largely ineffective at changing women's attitudes, knowledge, and victimization concerning sexual assault. The purpose of the present investigation was to identify forms of persuasive evidence that women report as having changed their attitudes, knowledge, and behavior concerning sexual assault. Focus groups were used to identify common themes college women use to explain their understandings of these topics. These focus groups discussed how close family members impacted their behaviors concerning sexual assault, how they gained their knowledge of sexual assault through first-hand narratives, and how their attitudes reflected a strong belief in traditional gender roles. Each of the reviewed theories proved useful in interpreting the results of the study. This study concluded that parents should be given more education about sexual assault and that women should have more opportunity to participate in sexual assault prevention programs. Implications of these findings for the creation of future interventions are discussed.
","abstract_html":"<p>Sexual assault is a serious health issue for college women. Unfortunately, the results of previous research revealed that intervention programs designed for women have been largely ineffective at changing women's attitudes, knowledge, and victimization concerning sexual assault. The purpose of the present investigation was to identify forms of persuasive evidence that women report as having changed their attitudes, knowledge, and behavior concerning sexual assault. Focus groups were used to identify common themes college women use to explain their understandings of these topics. These focus groups discussed how close family members impacted their behaviors concerning sexual assault, how they gained their knowledge of sexual assault through first-hand narratives, and how their attitudes reflected a strong belief in traditional gender roles. Each of the reviewed theories proved useful in interpreting the results of the study. This study concluded that parents should be given more education about sexual assault and that women should have more opportunity to participate in sexual assault prevention programs. Implications of these findings for the creation of future interventions are discussed.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Moser, Abigail Lee"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in Communication (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Amason, Patricia","Brady, Robert M."],"advisors":["Webb, Lynne M."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:59:15Z","subjects":["Social sciences","Communication and the arts","College women","Focus groups","Persuasion","Prevention programs","Sexual assault","Gender and Sexuality","Student Counseling and Personnel Services","Women's Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/505","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Amason, Patricia","Brady, Robert M."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Webb, Lynne M."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Moser, Abigail Lee"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2012"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in Communication (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Social sciences","Communication and the arts","College women","Focus groups","Persuasion","Prevention programs","Sexual assault","Gender and Sexuality","Student Counseling and Personnel Services","Women's Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/505"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Sexual assault is a serious health issue for college women. Unfortunately, the results of previous research revealed that intervention programs designed for women have been largely ineffective at changing women's attitudes, knowledge, and victimization concerning sexual assault. The purpose of the present investigation was to identify forms of persuasive evidence that women report as having changed their attitudes, knowledge, and behavior concerning sexual assault. Focus groups were used to identify common themes college women use to explain their understandings of these topics. These focus groups discussed how close family members impacted their behaviors concerning sexual assault, how they gained their knowledge of sexual assault through first-hand narratives, and how their attitudes reflected a strong belief in traditional gender roles. Each of the reviewed theories proved useful in interpreting the results of the study. This study concluded that parents should be given more education about sexual assault and that women should have more opportunity to participate in sexual assault prevention programs. Implications of these findings for the creation of future interventions are discussed.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Content of Sexual Assault Prevention Programs: What Evidence Could Change College Women's Minds?"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Amason, Patricia","Brady, Robert M."],"dc:contributor.advisor":["Webb, Lynne M."],"dc:creator":["Moser, Abigail Lee"],"dc:date":["2012"],"dc:date.available":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Sexual assault is a serious health issue for college women. Unfortunately, the results of previous research revealed that intervention programs designed for women have been largely ineffective at changing women's attitudes, knowledge, and victimization concerning sexual assault. The purpose of the present investigation was to identify forms of persuasive evidence that women report as having changed their attitudes, knowledge, and behavior concerning sexual assault. Focus groups were used to identify common themes college women use to explain their understandings of these topics. These focus groups discussed how close family members impacted their behaviors concerning sexual assault, how they gained their knowledge of sexual assault through first-hand narratives, and how their attitudes reflected a strong belief in traditional gender roles. Each of the reviewed theories proved useful in interpreting the results of the study. This study concluded that parents should be given more education about sexual assault and that women should have more opportunity to participate in sexual assault prevention programs. Implications of these findings for the creation of future interventions are discussed.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/505"],"dc:subject":["Social sciences","Communication and the arts","College women","Focus groups","Persuasion","Prevention programs","Sexual assault","Gender and Sexuality","Student Counseling and Personnel Services","Women's Studies"],"dc:title":["Content of Sexual Assault Prevention Programs: What Evidence Could Change College Women's Minds?"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in Communication (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:59:15Z"}