Psychology of Violence, Vol 15(5), Sep 2025, 534-544; doi:10.1037/vio0000575
Objective: Bystanders are often present at the early signs of sexual risk, before a sexual assault occurs, positioning them to prevent sexual violence. However, few reliable and validated measures assess whether individuals intervene at the first indicators of risk. To address this gap, we developed the Bystander Reactions to Early Assault Cues Tool (B-REACT), a vignette measure that assesses intervention intentions in response to early cues for sexual assault risk. Method: Data were collected in two studies with a community sample of young adults recruited from MTurk (N = 755). Participants read and responded to newly developed vignettes, which depicted varying levels of sexual risk ambiguity from the perspective of a bystander. Bystander intentions were assessed using both quantitative (i.e., closed-ended items) and qualitative (i.e., content-coded responses) measures. Results: Results provided evidence that the B-REACT is a reliable and valid means of assessing bystander intentions in response to sexual risk. Specifically, a coding scheme was created and implemented to identify the presence or absence of an intervention intention with high interrater reliability, and a measure of prototypic bystander behaviors showed strong internal consistency. Responses on the B-REACT were predicted by situational determinants of intervention derived from bystander theory and established individual difference variables (i.e., bystander efficacy, rape myth acceptance, perceived barriers, gender), supporting the B-REACT’s validity. Conclusion: By incorporating a bystander’s first-person perspective, ambiguous cues for preassault sexual risk, and both qualitative and quantitative assessments, the B-REACT is among a limited number of validated and standardized measures of bystander intentions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)