Alcohol study aims to raise awareness for sexual assault prevention

A master’s psychology student at the University of Rhode Island continues to research how emotions and alcohol intoxication affect risks of sexual assault in young women on college campuses throughout Rhode Island.

By observing how women are emotionally impacted by alcohol consumption, Reina Kiefer hopes to raise awareness for sexual assault prevention in her role as the principal investigator. She hopes to learn more about women’s ability to recognize sexual assault risks in a hypothetical hook-up situation.

“Alcohol makes it harder for us to pay attention to all the different things going on in our environment,” Kiefer said. “But it makes you more likely to pay attention to cues that are consistent with your current mood or state.”

The demographic focus of the study are women between the ages of 21 and 30, according to Emilia Batastini Dell’Ovo, a third-year double major in psychology, criminology and criminal justice. Dell’Ovo is the research assistant for the study, tasked with screening participants for eligibility and scheduling.

“Sexual assault risk perception is so important to look at in women,” Dell’Ovo said. “Even though men obviously are victims of it, I think that women are predominant.”

The Assessing State Emotions and Acute Alcohol Intoxication on Sexual Assault Risk Perception study is an alcohol administration study, according to Kiefer. Eligible women are asked to drink four beverages that may each contain 1.5 ounces of alcohol. After the participants drink, they are connected to electrodes to measure their heart rate and sweat activity. Changes in heart rate and perspiration are the biological markers of emotion regulation.

Prior to the survey, participants will be asked to describe an event during which they felt a specific strong emotion, such as excitement or anger, or to describe something neutral, such as brushing their teeth.

“The hypothetical vignette is a chronological description of a night out,” Kiefer said.

Kiefer’s questions lead the participant to a hypothetical intimate moment shared with someone met at a bar. At various points throughout the story, participants are asked how they would respond if the situation were occurring in real life and to rate her discomfort on a scale from one to 10.

“Finding any way to try to prevent sexual assault situations is definitely meaningful to our campus,” Dell’Ovo said. “And I think the goal: seeing what puts [the student] at higher risk.”

Kiefer hopes to provide the data collected from this study and offer recommendations for how to discuss hook-up culture on college campuses and how to best support students.

The focus of the study hones in on the idea that alcohol can be influenced by the consumer’s mental state, according to Kiefer.

Nicole Weiss is the URI advisor for the study. Kathleen Marsh Parks, professor of c ommunity health and health behavior at the University of Buffalo, and Lindsay Orchowski, sexual assault researcher and professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University, work alongside Kiefer. Psychology is the only department at URI involved in the study, according to Dell’Ovo.

“I really wanted to do work that was going to directly impact and benefit the community,” Kiefer said.

Kiefer submitted her grant request in December 2022 and the National Institution of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism awarded Kiefer with the national research service award, a two-year funded research grant for $100,000 in April of 2023. Data collection began in late spring of this year. Kiefer will continue collecting data through May of 2025, with the plan to disseminate her findings later next year.

Rhode Island based SMART recovery meetings are available to those who struggle with substance abuse over Zoom on Mondays at 7 p.m. For additional resources, URI students can access the Counseling Center , Health Services and the Psychological Consultation Center .