“Coaching Boys into Men”: Preparing athletic coaches as violence prevention advocates to engage adolescent male athletes to reduce violence against women

Teen dating violence (TDV) and sexual violence (SV) is a major public health problem. Nearly 1 in 3 adolescent girls in the US is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse by a dating partner. Despite the high rates of TDV/SV, programs to prevent perpetration of TDV/SV with demonstrated effectiveness are limited. Nationally, over 80% of school-age children participate in formal athletics programs, highlighting that athletics represent an important out-of-classroom setting for prevention programming. The Coaching Boys Into Men (CBIM) program trains coaches to deliver weekly brief violence prevention messages to adolescent male athletes. Young athletes are an important target for TDV/SV prevention, due to the prevalence of abuse perpetration among male athletes and their endorsement of attitudes supportive of violence against women. Coaches are a natural ally for such interventions due to their role as influential, non-parental role models.

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, WEAVE and Futures Without Violence collaborated in a cluster-randomized controlled trial of CBIM in high schools. The presenter will discuss strategies for recruiting coaches to participate in CBIM. Thirty six coaches were interviewed; 176 coaches completed surveys about their attitudes and confidence related to providing violence prevention messages to their athletes. Coaches can be effective violence prevention advocates who can positively influence the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of adolescent male athletes to stop disrespectful and harmful behaviors toward women and girls.