Using Voices Against Violence vignettes to clarify students' attitudes about bystander behaviors in a violence prevention program

As part of the Voices Against Violence middle-school prevention program, four hypothetical vignettes were developed to promote discussion about the roles of bystanders in preventing violence. Students were asked what actions they would take as a bystander if they witnessed violence or had information about potential violence. They were also asked what they think most teachers at their school, as well as their mothers and fathers, would want them to do. Hypothetical vignettes were developed based on formative research with youth and adults that identified relevant situations and responses. For example, one hypothetical vignette states: “You are walking down the hall at school. There is a crowd of students watching a fight. Some of them are cheering. One of the students fighting is your friend.” Multiple response options are provided and students indicate how likely they would be, for example, to: cheer for your friend to win, join the fight to help your friend, try to stop the fight, find an adult at school to stop the fight, try not to get involved. Other scenarios address weapon carrying, bullying, and rumors that a student may bring a gun to school. With parental permission, surveys were administered to 120 7th graders at one middle school in New York City; they represented 70% of all students, most of whom are Latino. Measures have been designed to inform classroom discussions and to provide an evaluation tool for violence prevention that aims to support positive bystander actions. Psychometric properties and programmatic uses are discussed.