Engage: A bystander intervention training for U.S. Army soldiers

Drug and alcohol misuse, sexual misconduct, and suicidal behaviors can negatively affect the well-being of personnel in high-risk occupations and compromise organizational effectiveness. While the U.S. Army has established policies, programs, and a professional prevention workforce to reduce the occurrence of these behaviors, soldiers who are in the presence of their at-risk peers are best positioned to intervene. Thus, to leverage the impact of peer-based bystander intervention, the Army developed a two-hour training entitled "Engage." Engage provides soldiers with instruction on fostering awareness of risky behaviors, taking responsibility in situations where such behaviors may occur, and having a plan of action for intervening on behalf of those at risk. A longitudinal quasi-randomized evaluation of Engage was conducted with active-duty soldiers over a nine-month period. Eight companies were assigned to receive Engage, and eight companies were assigned to a control condition. Surveys assessed training acceptability, knowledge related to bystander behaviors, confidence in intervening, and perceptions of unit engagement. Soldiers found the training to be acceptable, evidenced improved knowledge of bystander intervention concepts following training, and perceived their units to be more engaged in bystander practices over time. Longitudinal assessment of soldiers' confidence in intervening was moderate to high at baseline; while confidence remained stable over multiple follow-up assessments, no significant changes were observed due to training. These findings highlight the potential value of tailoring bystander intervention training for service members. Results also provide direction for improving such training for the military and other high-risk occupations.