During the Spring semester students reported issues related to campus safety including incidents of sexual assault, poor lighting and the lack of safe phones on campus.  At the same time, a grant from the Office of Violence Against Women became available. A decision was made to apply for the grant and conduct a survey using a convenience sample (N=414) predominately composed of freshman students. An instrument was designed to collect the data needed for the grant. Results indicated clear gaps between student’s perceptions of relationship violence and the rates of occurrence of relationship violence on campus. After, creative ways to integrate these issues into several classes were explored.

Laner (1990) noted large discrepancies between reported rates of physical violence in dating relationships and the willingness of those involved to label such behavior as violent, abusive, or problematic. Laner (as cited in Carlson, 1999) found that when students were asked about the worst aspects of dating, only 1 out of 224 spontaneously mentioned physical aggression or abuse. The Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Studies (CAS) indicated that as many as 1 in 20 college women experience sexual assault each year (Mohler-Kuo, Dowdall, Koss, & Wechsler, 2004). Estimates of incidents of violence in dating relationships range from 12% among high school students (Henton, Cate, Koval, Lloyd, & Christopher, 1983) to over 50% among college students (Arias & Johnson, 1989; Comins, 1989). Subjective perceptions of dating violence are important and labeling aggressive behavior as abuse increased the likelihood of seeking help or disclosing the incident to significant others (Piog-Good & Stets, 1989).

We believe these gaps in understanding relationship violence among our students deserved attention. In order to inform students, issues of relationship violence and rape awareness were integrated into three psychology course curricula.

 The approach included pedagogical constructs found in Schneider (2001) who emphasized the importance of collaborative inquiry, experiential, project based and, integrative learning. Schneider defines collaborative inquiry as learning through group settings with a challenging issue as the focal point of discussion. Experiential learning involves opportunities to gain experience in a practicum setting. Project based learning; a three-step process involves an open-ended problem, acquisition of new knowledge, and applied solutions.  Integrative learning strives to connect issues within several discipline not always logically related. 

Method

Participants

 A total 414 students from 11 classes were surveyed. All participants were undergraduate students attending Southern Arkansas University during the Spring semester. The number of participants represented 14% of the total student population. As this survey was in support of a grant application, data were not collected regarding gender or ethnicity. 

Apparatus

An instrument specific to the data collection needs for the grant application was developed.  Consultation with colleagues of the Behavioral and Social Science Department provided feedback on the validity of the questionnaire.

The survey instrument contained three sections. Section one consisted of five questions pertaining to awareness of victim’s services on campus and willingness to use the services. A yes-no format was used to obtain students’ answers to questions 1-5. Section two included 16 behavioral examples of physical, emotional, and verbal violence. Students were asked to place checkmarks by the behaviors experienced within the past year. Section three consisted of two questions presented in a yes-no format assessing whether students felt they had been victimized and if they ever felt unsafe on campus.

The data were gathered over a two-week time frame from classes with predominately freshman enrollment.

Results

Results indicated that 711 incidents, as reported in section two of the survey, met the criteria for relationship violence- from punching to threats, stalking to forced sexual acts. Yet, only 31 students or 7% believed they had experienced any relationship violence. Of the 414 respondents, 367 denied having been victims despite having reported 40 incidents of slapping, 46 incidents of shoving, 59 incidents of threatening remarks, 40 incidents of unwanted touching, and 55 incidents of intense jealously. Regardless of these objective measures, students overwhelmingly indicated they did not see themselves as victims of relationship violence.

Discussion

This educational intervention originated from two circumstances, announcement of a grant and data indicating a need to educate students about relationship violence. An assessment instrument was developed to support the grant proposal and provide insight about freshman student perceptions of relationship violence. However, what was discovered was unexpected. As a result, activities specific to relationship violence were incorporated into three upper level psychology courses.

 Statistics

The issue of relationship violence is introduced with a newspaper article detailing the account of a woman residing at a battered women’s shelter who was tragically beaten to death by her estranged husband. This provides an opportunity for a relational learning exercise by introduction of data concerning violence where students are asked to imagine they are the director of a battered women’s shelter:

“You have ten residents, all with histories of separating from their batterers. As      director you are aware that a woman leaves her batterer an average of 7 times before making a successful and final separation. In an effort to better serve the residents you interview each resident to determine the number of previous separations from the batterer.”

Data on the number of prior separations are collected from each resident and analyzed. Statistical concepts reinforced include mean, standard deviation, z scores and, one-sample t –test. Students interpret if the sample mean statistically differs from the population mean. In addition, students are asked to evaluate the needs of the shelter residents while continuing to adopt the role of shelter director.

Social Psychology

In this course student research groups  selected topics from a list including funding challenges for women’s shelters, global perspectives of violence against women and, portrayals of violence in video games. Often students became frustrated by their idea of society’s response to issues of violence.  “They should do something about that” was a common comment at the beginning of the semester. Later, students began to design creative solutions related to their topic, offering these solutions to community members.  An additional requirement was the design of educational posters. These posters provided students an opportunity to show their research and supplied instant information to students in other classes. Posters were designed with high visual impact and displayed throughout the department building and around major walkways.

One topic, global perspectives of violence against women, brought lengthy discussion from the entire class and enlightened students about the relationship between culture and violence against women throughout the world.  After a presentation from the local women’s shelter two students became volunteers.

Developmental Psychology
Students were divided into collaborative inquiry groups and chose a topic appropriate for a developmental psychology class.   A large group of students explored the effects of violence on children and the elderly. Within these groups, discussion centered on developmental and emotional delays related to child abuse, local funding of prevention initiatives, national statistics and information about agencies working to eliminate abuse. Nursing majors explored the issues of AIDS orphans, global responses to this problem and the impact on child attachment and development.  As with the social psychology class student groups were provided with evaluation materials and grading rubrics.  Peer-to-peer evaluation of poster drafts was introduced and was a significant contribution to quality.

Students reacted significantly when local issues of child abuse and neglect were presented. Students were challenged to devise creative solutions to enhance funding for a local agency working with developmentally delayed children. An agency director attended class, providing a workshop about working with this population.   

Civic engagement and service learning in student clubs and internships

The Psychology Club adopted a service learning approach, working with the local women’s shelter. Members sponsored a collection drive, attended volunteer training and hosted the shelter’s executive director as a guest speaker. A final activity involved sponsoring an information table at “Spring Fling".  Students distributed information from the Don’t Get Singled Out program, a safe dating activity developed by the University of Central Arkansas Counseling Center. This event coincided with National Sexual Assault Awareness Week. 

 News that the grant application was declined ignited a sense of social activism among the faculty and students. Consequently, this provided excellent opportunities for experiential learning. A select group of students worked with the local women’s shelter developing a program about safe dating entitled "When No Means No!” after peer feedback and adjustments, the program was presented to four fraternities and sororities, one honors hall, and two other student residence halls.

 The positive responses from students and faculty led to successful grant application written in collaboration with the local women’s shelter. Grant funds provided for two student internships, the first ever for the psychology department. This internship included training, design of educational programs and, presentation to peers. The outcome included presentations to 12 freshman orientation classes, six freshmen residence halls, and at two campus-wide events. 

The next step in continuing to educate students is the offering of a Domestic Violence course in Fall 2007. Course design includes student interviews of shelter volunteers and visitors, location of funding opportunities, donation drives and volunteer training. Additionally, students will attend self-defense classes taught by local law enforcement and observe court trails related to domestic violence.

References

Arias, H., & Johnson, P. J. (1989). Evaluations of physical aggression among intimate dyads. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 4, 298-307.

Carlson, B. E. (1999). Student judgments about dating violence: A factorial vignette analysis. Research in Higher Education, 40, 201-220.

Comins, C. A. (1984). Courtship violence: A recent study and its implications for future research. Paper presented at the Second National Conference for Family Violence Researchers. Durham, NH.

Dowdall, G. W., Koss, M. P., Mohler-Kuo, M., & Wechsler, H. (2004). Correlates of rape while intoxicated in a national sample of college women. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 65, 8.

Henton, J., Cate, R., Koval, J., Lloyd, S., & Christopher, S. (1983). Romance and violence in dating relationships. Journal of Family Issues, 4, 467-482.

Laner, M. R. (1990). Violence or its precipitants: Which is more likely to be identified as a dating problem? Deviant Behavior, 11, 319-329.

Mohler-Kuo, M., Dowdall, G. W., Koss, M. P., & Wechsler, H. (2004). Correlates of rape while intoxicated in a national sample of college women. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 65, 37-45.

Pirog-Good, M. A., & Stets, J. E. (1989). The help-seeking behavior of physically and sexually abused college students. In Maureen A. Pirog-Good and Jan E. Stets (eds.), Violence in Dating Relationships: Emerging Social Issues (pp. 108-125). New York: Praeger.

Schneider, C. G. (2001). Toward an engaged academy. Liberal Education, 87, 18-28.

The curriculum and program exemplars showcased here have been contributed by educators in the field. Many were originally featured in Community Works Journal, or in Connecting Service-Learning to the Curriculum. We thank our contributing educators and their students for making their work available to us. Please contact us if you would like to share and 'exemplar" or reflection of your own. CWI EXEMPLARS: Exemplars Main l K-8 Exemplars l 9-12 Exemplars l Higher Ed Exemplars l Community Based Exemplars l Community Works Journal