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This paper describes the evaluation of a mixed-gender workshop given to all freshman athletes from a large eastern university. A randomized post-test only experimental design was used to compare the date rape attitudes of freshman athletes who were exposed to a mixed-gender date rape workshop (n = 56) with those of athletes who were not exposed (n = 85). A previously validated instrument, the 25 item Date Rape Attitudes Survey (DRAS) was used as the criterion measure. Three hypotheses were tested with the following results: (1) men athletes reported attitudes that were more tolerant of date rape than those reported by women athletes (i.e., the men were more likely to condone date rape), (2) freshmen athletes in the control group reported attitudes that were more tolerant of date rape than those reported by athletes in the treatment group. The third hypothesis which was tested but not supported was that men athletes did not exhibit a greater program effect than women athletes. Finally, the authors discuss implications of the study and offer recommendations for future date rape prevention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives states that the reduction of unintended pregnancies is one of the primary health objectives for college-aged people. In addition, the reduction in rates of sexually transmitted diseases, with special emphasis on reducing the incidence of HIV infection, is an important objective for this population. One way of addressing these objectives is through promoting use of effective contraception methods. Attitudes toward a particular contraceptive option may play an important role in acceptance of, and predisposition toward, using a given method. The authors used semantic differential scaling to study the connotative meanings college students assigned to 13 contraceptive methods. They asked 751 students (mean age = 19.6 years) to rate each method of contraception, using 7-point scales composed of 15 bipolar adjective pairs. Scale internal consistency was estimated using Cronbach's alpha, and ranges were from .68 for douching to .92 for oral contraceptives. Respondents' rank-ordered approval ratings of the 13 options were as follows: oral contraceptives; abstinence; the condom; the diaphragm; the contraceptive sponge; female sterilization; rhythm; male sterilization; douching, the IUD, and vaginal suppositories (tied); spermicidal foam; and withdrawal. These results indicated general approval for methods that are effective in preventing conception. Semantic interpretation of selected contraceptive options differed by gender and race, but not by age. Implications for contraception education and future research issues are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although accidents are the leading cause of death among college students, literature about developing student health safety programs is limited. In this article, we present preliminary recommendations based on literature review, epidemiologic data, and Nominal Group Process (NGP) activities, for developing university student safety programs. Our recommendations include appointing a coordinator to oversee all on-campus safety activities, providing for university-wide education programs dealing with alcohol and drug use, promoting personal safety efforts in areas such as family violence and rape prevention, and encouraging students to use safe transportation alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]