Background
anger
Nearly half of intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors experience their first abusive relationship at college age (i.e., 18–24 years). In research studies, between 10 and 65% of US college students report experiencing violence from an intimate/dating partner or ex-partner [To reduce violence exposures and their negative impacts, IPV survivors need access to advocacy, evidence-based risk assessment tools, and safety planning information specific to their unique situation [Witnessing or being recipients of IPV disclosures may have significant “ripple effects” on the members of a survivor’s social network [The limited research conducted with IPV survivors’ friends demonstrates that they may feel positively about their actions to try to help their friends, but also may experience discomfort, anger, fear, frustration, and concerns about making the situation worse; they often feel unprepared to help [Popular approaches to violence prevention engaging bystanders, or peers/witnesses, have been deployed on college campuses with the aim of changing social norms around sexual and dating violence, promoting prosocial (helping) behaviors, and equipping bystanders with skills to recognize and intervene in situations where violence may occur (e.g., Mentors in Violence Prevention, Green Dot, InterACT, RealConsent). However, with rare exceptions [More research is needed to understand how to effectively support members of survivors’ social networks to raise awareness, increase knowledge, and build skills to provide tangible and emotional support to their friends who are navigating IPV. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to describe the impact of myPlan, a tailored mHealth safety decision aid, on concerned friends (college students of any gender, ages 18–24) self-identified as having a female-identified friend that had recently (past 6 months) experienced IPV.myPlan is free, secure and accessible via mobile download (Apple Store, Google Play) or web browser (myPlanApp.org) [myPlan addresses three key factors: [