Empowerment Self-Defense Intervention Outcomes: A Descriptive Review of Measures

Abstract

Global research about empowerment self-defense (ESD)—a sexual assault resistance intervention recommended as a component of a comprehensive sexual assault prevention strategy—continues to emerge, with studies reporting positive effects, including reduced risk of sexual assault victimization. Researchers have suggested ESD may produce additional positive public health outcomes beyond the prevention of sexual violence, but more research is needed to understand the benefits associated with ESD training. However, to conduct high-quality research, scholars have suggested a need for improved measurement tools. To better understand these measurement gaps, the purpose of this study was to identify and review measures used in ESD outcome studies; and in doing so, to determine the range of outcomes previously measured in quantitative studies. Within the 23 articles meeting study inclusion criteria, there were 57 unique scales that measured a range of variables. These 57 measures were grouped into nine construct categories: assault characteristics ( n = 1); attitudes and beliefs ( n = 6); behavior and behavioral intentions ( n = 12); fear ( n = 4); knowledge ( n = 3); mental health ( n = 8); any past unwanted sexual experiences ( n = 7); perception of risk and vulnerability ( n = 5); and self-efficacy ( n = 11). Except for mental health, most scales were developed in the Global North using college student populations, so measures for diverse populations (e.g., diverse in age, culture, ethnicity, geographical origin) are critically needed. Future research should focus on identifying and/or developing standardized tools that measure the full constellation of targeted outcomes. Evaluation of the methodological quality of studies assessing psychometric performance of the tools should also be prioritized.