The effect of rejection resiliency education on university students’ experiences of sexual rejection

Sexual rejection can lead to aggressive and manipulative responses from the person being rejected, including verbal, physical, and sexual assault. Sex education programs address the importance of consent but rarely discuss how to respond when someone says no. The focus of the present study was to examine the efficacy of education directly targeting sexual rejection resiliency. Participants ( N = 109) were university students assigned to receive either rejection resiliency education or a program on transitioning to university (control). Participants in both conditions completed a survey before the education session (Time 1), immediately after (Time 2), and three months after (Time 3). At Time 1, participants who reported more aggression, manipulation, and sexism also reported poorer reactions to rejection, which is consistent with past research. After the education sessions (Time 2), participants in the rejection resiliency condition reported feeling better able to handle rejection and more comfortable saying no to a sexual advance. Additionally, their qualitative responses indicated that the education session was beneficial to their ability to communicate about rejection. Contrary to expectations, participants who received the rejection resiliency training did not report significantly lower responses of aggression and manipulation at Time 3 compared to their initial responses or to the control group on quantitative measures. Participant attrition and the methodological challenges likely contributed to this outcome. While there was no positive effect of the training on the outcome measures of interest, the Time 2 descriptive and qualitative data show a benefit to rejection resilience education that can be explored in future research.