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 Researchers previously showed that the program had a positive
influence on male high school athletes, who showed reductions in
perpetration of dating violence and increased intention to intervene
and stop violence among peers.
The program, called Coaching Boys Into Men (CBIM), trains coaches to
deliver 15-minute scripted discussions once a week during the
athletic season. The lessons highlight respect, nonviolence, sexual
consent and interrupting abusive behaviors among peers.
“The coaches gained as much from delivering the program as the
athletes who received it,” said Maria Catrina D. Jaime, the study’s
lead author from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in
Pennsylvania.
“After the CBIM program, they were more confident addressing abusive
behaviors among their athletes and having violence-related
discussions with both athletes and fellow coaches. Since coaches are
important role models for youth, it is rewarding that they found the
CBIM program easy to do during the sport season and felt that it
added value for their athletes and coaching staff,” she told Reuters
Health.
Jaime said the program has been successfully adapted internationally
by cricket coaches and athletes in Mumbai, India.
In the U.S., nearly one quarter of women experience violence by a
current or former partner at some point in their lives, according to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The issue of dating violence in sports reemerged earlier this year
when Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was shown on
surveillance recordings fighting with his then-fiancee, now wife,
and allegedly knocking her unconscious at a casino.
The new study, Jaime explained, contributes to research regarding
the importance of adult role models for engaging boys in violence
prevention and suggests that coach-led programs may be an
alternative to traditional violence prevention programs that require
classroom instruction.
She and her colleagues recruited 176 coaches who led a variety of
male and co-ed teams, including football, basketball and lacrosse
teams, at 16 Northern California high schools.
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They split the coaches into two groups. Coaches in the intervention
group received the one-hour CBIM training and kits to lead program
discussions and those in the comparison group continued with their
usual coaching activities.
Coaches completed surveys at the beginning and end of the season
that addressed their own attitudes as well as their responses to
abusive behavior and inappropriate comments by athletes.
Although the coaches were not paid, schools did receive a small
stipend for allowing them to participate.
When comparing the initial surveys to end-of-season surveys, the
researchers found that coaches in the intervention group were 18
percent better at identifying abusive behaviors and 30 percent more
likely to address an instance of abusive behavior toward women when
they recognized one than coaches in the comparison group.
Intervention coaches were also significantly more likely to start
discussions about abusive behavior with colleagues and athletes than
comparison coaches, according to findings published in the Journal
of Interpersonal Violence.
“We suspected from watching how enthusiastic coaches can become
about the program, that the program may have some impact on the
coaches themselves,” said Jaime.
“Coaches are valuable role models and can help prevent violence
toward women and girls. The CBIM program is a research-tested
program that coaches find easily integrates into their coaching
routine and is valuable to help their athletes think and behave more
respectfully toward women and girls,” she said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1oU5DNx Journal of Interpersonal Violence,
online July 11, 2014.
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