Intoxicated bystanders' alcohol expectancies and valuations and the ability to detect risk in a potential sexual assault.

Alcohol intoxication, alcohol expectancies, and alcohol valuations are associated with impaired risk detection for victims of sexual assault; these factors may also impair risk detection of bystanders in a potential sexual assault. However, the relationship between expectancies, valuations and alcohol intoxication on bystanders' risk detection abilities has not been examined; the goal of this study was to address this gap in the literature. The current study used an alcohol administration experimental design that assessed 123 young adults' (50% women) alcohol expectancies and valuations, as well as their risk appraisal using a sexual assault vignette. Participants in the alcohol condition (n = 61) reported diminished ability to detect risk when they reported higher positive valuations compared with participants in the control condition (n = 62), but there were no effects of expectancies on bystanders' ability to detect risk in either condition. Risk detection is a crucial step in bystander prevention; alcohol intoxication, in combination with positive alcohol valuations may impede those appraisals. Published by Elsevier Ltd.