Prevention of child sexual abuse victimization: A meta-analysis of school programs

doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(97)00058-6

Child Abuse & Neglect

Volume 21, Issue 10, October 1997, Pages 975-987

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(97)00058-6 Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this article was to provide data about the effects of child sexual abuse prevention programs. A more specific aim was to estimate the contribution of potential moderator variables such as age, program duration, or sample size to effect size.

Method: A meta-analytic approach was used to calculate post-test and follow-up effect sizes of 16 evaluation studies of school programs aimed at the prevention of child sexual abuse victimization. Tests of categorical models were used in the analysis of moderator variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine their association with effect sizes.

Results: Significant and considerable mean post-intervention (d = .71) and follow-up (d = .62) effect sizes were found, indicating that victimization prevention programs are successful in teaching children sexual abuse concepts and self-protection skills. Intervention characteristics such as duration and content of the program, and child characteristics such as age and SES were important moderators of effect size.

Conclusions: Our findings corroborate and refine the positive conclusions of traditional narrative reviews. Programs that focus on skill training, allowing sufficient time for children to integrate self-protection skills into their cognitive repertoire, are to be preferred. Future evaluation research should focus on transfer of training.

Résumé

Objectif: Cet article fournit des données dur les programmes de prévention des agressions sexuelles chez les enfants. Plus particulièrement, il a pour but d'évaluer dans quelle mesure des variables modératrices telles que l'âge, la durée du programme ou l'ampleur des échantillons peuvent affecter le succés de ces programmes.

Méthode: On a évalué 16 programmes de prévention des agressions sexuelles auprès des enfants en se servant d'une approche méta-analytique pour calculer les effets des programmes après l'évaluation et dans la période de suivi. Des tests de modèles catégorisants ont été utilisés. On a eu recours à l'analyse de régression multiple.

Résultats: Les résultats indiquent que les programmes connaissent un succès en ce qu'ils enseignent au enfants la notion de l'agression sexuelle et les moyens pour se protéger. La durée et le contenu du programme ainsi que les caractéristiques des enfants, soient leur âge et l'échelle SES sont des facteurs modérateurs importants.

Conclusions: Les résultats corroborent et précisent les conclusions favorables tirées à la suite des évaluations traditionnelles qui se basent sur des méthodes narratives. Les programmes centrés sur le développement des habiletés et ceux qui permettent aux enfants de prendre le temps d'absorber dans leur répertoire cognitif les habiletés qui leur permettront de se protéger, sont supérieurs. Dans des études futures, il faudrait se pencher sur le ransfert des habiletés.

Resumen

Objetivo: El objetivo de este artículo es ofrecer datos sobre los efectos de los programas para prevenir el abuso sexual en los niños. Un objetivo más específico era estimar la contribución de variables potencialmente moderadoras como la edad duración del programa, o el tamaño de la muestra en el tamano del efecto.

Método: Se utilizó un enfoque meta-analítico para calcular el post-test y el seguimiento del tamaño del efecto en 16 estudios de programas escolares dirigidos a prevenir la victimización de los niños por el abuso sexual. Se usaron tests de modelos por categorías en el análisis de las variables moderadoras. Se aplicó análisis de regresión múltiple para determinar su asociación con los tamaños del efecto.

Resultados: Los tamaños del efecto se encontraron significativo y considerable la media post-intervención (d = .71) y el seguimiento (d = .62), indicando que los programas de prevención de la victimizacion son exitosos para enseñarle a los niños conceptos sobre abuso sexual y habilidades de auto-protección. Las características de la intervención como duración y contenido del programa, y características del niño como edad y status socioeconómico eran moderadores importantes del tamaño del efecto.

Conclusiones: Nuestros hallazgos corroboran y refinan las conclusiones positivas de las revisiones narrativas tradicionales. Deben preferirse los programas que enfocan habilidades de entrenamiento, permitiendo suficiente tiempo para que los niños integren habilidades de auto-protección en su repertorio cognitivo. Investigaciones futuras sobre evaluación deben enfocar la transferencia de entrenamiento.

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Early research contributed to increased attention on the subject, but faced limitations leading to inconclusive results on the impact of the prevention programs (Hazzard, Webb, Kleemeier, Angert, & Pohl, 1991). Subsequent efforts to evaluate school-based programs showed an increase in children’s knowledge surrounding abuse prevention concepts and self-protection skills (Davis & Gidycz, 2000; Finkelhor & Dziuba-Leatherman, 1995; Rispens, Aleman, & Goudena, 1997; Tutty, 1997, 2000), however, generalizability of some results is difficult due to small sample sizes. Programs that utilized more active participation, rehearsal, and reinforcement of self-protection skills have produced significantly higher knowledge and skill gains as opposed to having the skills modeled by an instructor or teacher (Brassard & Fiorvanti, 2014; Davis & Gidycz, 2000; Hazzard et al., 1991).
Despite the importance of child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention, there are few recent randomized controlled trials of school-based CSA prevention programs.
(1) To evaluate the effects of the Second Step Child Protection Unit (CPU) on students’ CSA prevention concept knowledge, ability to recognize, report, and refuse unsafe touches, and perceptions of teacher-student relations and (2) investigate the moderating role of age and gender on program effectiveness.
Eight elementary schools in a large suburban school district in the northeast United States were randomly assigned to the intervention or control condition, with analyses conducted on a total of 2172 students.
Students in intervention schools received the 6-week CPU and those in the control schools were exposed to business as usual. Students were administered assessments at baseline and then at post-test.
Univariate Analyses of Covariance revealed that students in the intervention schools had significantly higher scores on all outcomes than students in the control schools at post-test, even after controlling for baseline scores. Children in younger grades made greater gains from the program, and girls scored higher than boys in CSA knowledge and ability to recognize, refuse, and report unsafe touches, but both boys and girls made significant gains.
Results support the importance of beginning early with school-based CSA prevention efforts. Although boys are still at a relative disadvantage in terms of their knowledge and ability in this area, they are able to make gains at the same rate as girls.
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Schools are logical settings for teaching children about sexual abuse and its prevention, given their educative function, access to large populations of children and adolescents, and relatively inexpensive delivery (Walsh, Zwi, Woolfenden, & Shlonsky, 2015; Wurtele, 2009). Although rigorous program evaluations have not yet been able to prove, definitively, that programs actually prevent subsequent sexual abuse victimization, they have shown that high-quality programs are effective in increasing children's knowledge of CSA and prevention skills (Davis & Gidycz, 2000; Rispens, Aleman, & Goudena, 1997). Studies of prevention programs conducted in Chinese schools show similar effects (Chen, 2012; Chen, Zhang, Li, & Luo, 2013; Zhang et al., 2014).
Parents play a crucial role as protectors and educators of their children, with whom they are in an ideal position to share prevention information. This study aimed to investigate whether Chinese parents' knowledge, attitude and practice regarding child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention could be explained by health behavior change theory and whether parental practice influenced children's CSA prevention skills. Data were collected from 452 families (comprising father, mother, and child) with self-administered questionnaires gathering information on demographics, parental knowledge, attitude, educational practice regarding CSA prevention, and children's CSA prevention knowledge and strategies. Data were analysed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the relationships between variables. SEM analyses indicated that parents' knowledge had an indirect effect on their educational practice (β = 0.35), mediated by attitude. Parents' educational practice regarding CSA prevention directly influenced children's self-protection skills (β = 0.21, χ²[30] = 60.909, RMSEA = 0.053, IFI = 0.905, CFI = 0.901, TLI = 0.852). The study findings suggest that parents can be effective instructors by enhancing their children's capacities to protect themselves from CSA. Efforts are therefore needed to encourage parents to engage in CSA prevention education with their children and to provide parents with necessary knowledge, communicative techniques, and resources to do so.
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Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a problem with severe consequences for victimized children. A variety of interventions have been developed and implemented over the last decades to prevent CSA. However, most of them have not been systematically evaluated to determine their effectiveness. The IGEL program is a school-based intervention to prevent CSA in third-grade primary school children in Germany.
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Prevention of child sexual abuse victimization: A meta-analysis of school programs

Abstract

Résumé

Resumen

Child Abuse & Neglect

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Child Abuse & Neglect

Child Abuse & Neglect

Child Abuse & Neglect

Child Abuse & Neglect

Child Abuse & Neglect

Behavior Therapy

Child Abuse & Neglect

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Child Abuse & Neglect

Child Abuse & Neglect

Child Abuse & Neglect

Behavior Therapy

Child Abuse & Neglect

Child Abuse & Neglect

Child sexual abuse prevention: Research review and recommendations

Social Work Research and Abstracts

With the best of intentions

Sex abuse prevention programs: Offenders' attitudes about their efficacy

Child Abuse & Neglect

A review and critique of research evaluating child sexual abuse prevention programs

Education and Treatment of Children

Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences

Race comparisons on need achievement: A meta-analytic alternative to Graham's narrative review

Review of Educational Research

The effects of maltreatment on the development of young children