Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs for Kindergartners: A Survey of Public Actions,Attitudes, and Beliefs in Kuwait

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of a child sexual abuse prevention programs in preschool children in Kuwait. Three hundred and twenty participants were conveniently selected to complete a self-administered 57-item questionnaire. The attitudes, beliefs, and actions of participants related to CSA prevention were examined. Results reported minimum actions taken by participants in relation to CSA prevention, limited knowledge of how to handle the subject with the children, strong agreement with the suggested contents of CSA prevention program, and overall positive beliefs about the expected outcomes of prevention programs. The findings suggest that it is feasible to implement CSA prevention programs on kindergartens. Applications and limitations of these findings are discussed.     

Effects as a function of implementation fidelity of a transdiagnostic prevention program in young school-aged children

Super Skills for Life (SSL) is a transdiagnostic prevention program for school-aged children with internalizing problems. The current study aimed to examine the short- and long-term (12-month follow-up) effectiveness of SSL, depending on implementation fidelity. Participants were 123 Spanish-speaking children aged 6–8 years with internalizing symptoms and their parents. High (n = 41) and low fidelity (n = 26) groups were established and compared with a control group (CG) (n = 56). Compared to CG, the high-fidelity group (HFG) achieved better outcomes than the low-fidelity group (LFG) at short and long term, including symptoms of anxiety, depression, and internalizing problems, and also externalizing problems at long-term. The LFG improved key symptoms at short term (depression) and long term (anxiety and depression). Findings suggest that SSL is beneficial even if not delivered at maximum fidelity, although considering the influence of implementation fidelity is critical because the high-fidelity implementation yielded the greatest effects when compared to the CG. This research provides valuable data, analyzing for the first time the influence of fidelity on SSL outcomes in young school-aged children exhibiting internalizing symptoms, while there is still a lack of studies of these characteristics concerning transdiagnostic prevention programs targeting childhood anxiety and depression.     

Evaluation of community-based AIDS education and risk reduction projects in ethnic and racial minority communities: A survey of projects funded by the U.S. public health service

The purpose of this study was to describe proposed program evaluation methods used to determine effectiveness of selected federally funded AIDS education and risk reduction interventions focused on ethnic and racial minority populations. Funding for AIDS prevention programs has grown significantly since 1985, when the first allocation of $11 million was earmarked for general AIDS prevention and education. In 1987, funds specifically targeting minority populations were set aside from AIDS prevention and education programs. Nine agencies/divisions within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) were identified as having funded AIDS prevention and education projects targeted toward ethnic and racial minority populations. The grants and contracts reviewed for this study were limited to those programs receiving Federal funding through DHHS. Few programs provided information within the broader context of sex education and drug education. The modification of needle-sharing behavior among IV drug users and unprotected sex with an IV drug user were the two most frequent risk factors targeted. All 63 programs used at least one formative evaluation method. The most frequently used formative techniques were monitoring achievement of project objectives and counting the number of people participating in program activities. Forty programs counted the amount of AIDS literature distributed. Thirty-three programs conducted a baseline assessment of AIDS knowledge, and 33 programs conducted a baseline assessment of risk behaviors for HIV infection. Results from this study support the National Academy of Sciences recommendation that while summative evaluation will ultimately be valuable, it would be premature to begin developing outcome evaluation strategies at the present time. It is incumbent upon program planners and evaluators to ensure that premature program evaluations are not made in an effort to eliminate direct federal funding of minority community-based strategies to stop the spread of HIV infection.     

Preventing child sexual abuse (CSA) in ethnic minority communities: A literature review and suggestions for practice in Australia

A systematic literature review was conducted to address the immense national gap in knowledge on child sexual abuse (CSA) and ethnic minority communities in Australia, which necessarily borrowed from overseas. One theme explored within the review was that of prevention, and it was found that school-based programs are the most common type of prevention effort. The literature also calls for ‘culturally tailored’ programs to avoid homogenising victims' needs, however in Western multicultural countries like Australia there is a risk that such school-based programs heighten racism for ethnic minority children. Thus, program elements that are culturally sensitive could be incorporated into universal programs instead. Universal programs are also beneficial because they help reach many children regardless of their cultural background, help send the message that all children are equally valued and protected, help create unity and support among diverse victims, and can be further justified by three relatively stable cross-cultural findings: (i) that the prevalence of CSA is high worldwide, (ii) all children require protection irrespective of gender, and (iii) perpetrators are usually known to the victim. To help mobilise their role, service providers could co-deliver school-based programs especially to address institutional CSA within schools. They could also provide training to other health professionals to improve their identification of CSA and confidence to probe; a form of early intervention and therefore ‘secondary prevention’. Overall, this review argues that the importance of family reputation in collectivist cultures needs to be taken into account when designing and evaluating prevention programs so that delays in disclosure and help-seeking due to cultural pressure are not mistaken as evidence for their ineffectiveness. The findings are significant because they help progress the ‘prevention’ field in Australia where literature is essentially absent, particularly in the school and service system arenas.     

An evaluation of immediate outcomes and fidelity of a drug abuse prevention program in continuation high schools: project towards no drug abuse (TND)

The present study provides an implementation fidelity, process, and immediate outcomes evaluation of Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND), a drug prevention program targeting continuation high school youth (n=1426) at risk for drug abuse. A total of 24 schools participated in three randomized conditions: TND Only, TND and motivational interviewing follow-up, and no treatment control. Fidelity was high: across program schools the curriculum was implemented as intended and was received favorably by students. Relative to controls, intervention conditions produced effects on hypothesized mediators, including greater gains in program related knowledge, greater reductions in drug use intentions, and positive changes in motivation. However, few generalizations to attitudes and intentions regarding risky sexual behavior were found. The pattern of results suggests that the experimental manipulations worked as intended.     

Age Variation in Performance Among Preschool Children in a Sexual Abuse Prevention Program

The purpose of this study was (a) to determine whether preschool age children could be taught sexual abuse prevention skills and concepts, and (b) to determine if any variation in performance exists as a function of the age of the child. Over 1300 preschool children ages 3-to-6-years were pretested and either participated in the prevention program or a control program. Children were posttested on knowledge and skill gains. Children who participated in the prevention program demonstrated greater knowledge of prevention skills and concepts compared to age matched controls. The benefits of participation in prevention program varied across age groups. Multiple comparison of posttest means indicated that trained 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds demonstrated significantly greater knowledge of prevention skills and concepts than 3-year-olds. Trained 6-year-olds demonstrated significantly greater knowledge than trained 4-year-olds. The results indicate that preschool age children can be taught prevention skills and concepts. However, benefit from participation in prevention programs varies with age.     

Process evaluation of “Girls on the Run”: Exploring implementation in a physical activity-based positive youth development program

Many positive youth development programs rely on physical activity as a primary program component. Referred to as physical activity-based youth development programs, these program designs have great potential for promoting healthy youth development. This study examined how one such physical activity-based positive youth development program was implemented in order to identify design features critical to maximizing positive youth outcomes. This mixed method, multi-site process evaluation of Girls on the Run (GOTR) utilized focus groups, site visits, and self-report implementation checklists. Implementation scores were calculated to assess implementation fidelity across twenty-nine sites, and qualitative data were inductively analyzed to identify factors influential for implementation. Results reveal variability in how GOTR was implemented. Five themes emerged from the data that represented factors serving as facilitators or barriers to programmatic implementation. These included contextual/environmental factors (e.g., parental involvement, relationships with school personnel), organizational factors (e.g., implementation support and responsiveness of staff), program-specific factors (e.g., curriculum design), coach factors (e.g., existing relationships with participants, responsiveness to participant's needs), and youth factors (e.g., behavioral and discipline issues). Study findings have implications for improving the design of physical activity-based and other positive youth development programs, with relevance to evaluators, program planners, youth development leaders, and others working with children and youth.     

Pilot Evaluation of a Sexual Abuse Prevention Program for Taiwanese Children

The purpose of the current study was to develop and evaluate the efficacy of a school-based child sexual abuse prevention program for Taiwanese children. Forty-six Taiwanese children age 6 to 13 were divided into one of two groups based on their school grade and then randomly assigned to a skills-based child sexual abuse prevention program who received training immediately or a waiting-list control condition who received the training after a delay. Children's self-protection skills improved regardless of age after participation in the program. The program, however, did not successfully improve children's knowledge of sexuality and safety. Although future studies should modify the program content to better target knowledge of sexuality and safety, these results are promising for a pilot of this skills-based CSA prevention program in Taiwan.     

Knowledge,Attitude and Practice of Child Sexual Abuse Prevention among Parents of Children with Hearing Loss: A Pilot Study in Beijing and Hebei Province,China

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to examine the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention among parents of children with hearing loss. The study involved 127 pairs of parents with deaf and hard of hearing children from three special education schools in Beijing and Hebei province, China. The findings revealed that the parents lacked knowledge about CSA prevention, such as the character of perpetrators and child victims. Parents were supportive about potential CSA prevention education in schools. Most parents told children much about personal safety, but topics on CSA prevention were still insufficient. The study also found that education level was significantly associated with knowledge and attitude. Elder parents knew more and talked more about CSA prevention. Mothers and girls’ parents were more willing to communicate with children about CSA prevention. The conclusion of the study was that parents appeared to have gained a positive attitude, but poor knowledge and practice. Their knowledge and skills of effective communication should be strengthened to promote CSA prevention practice.     

The Role of Maintaining Telephone Contact with Parents During the Teaching of a Personal Safety Program

Although recent evidence suggests that parents can be effective instructors of a personal safety program, the extent to which these results depend on maintaining contact with parents during program implementation has yet to be determined. This study examined the effectiveness of a program when taught by parents who either were or were not contacted during the teaching of the program. Preschool-aged children in both groups demonstrated enhanced knowledge and skill gains relative to children assigend to a delayed treatment control group. Low-income preschoolers learned prevention concepts and skills without being upset by the program, and their parents also appeared to benefit from teaching the program. However, the probability of completing the program was higher for parents who were contacted throughout program implementation, suggesting that personal contact may enhance motivation for some parents. Implications of the study for the child sexual abuse prevention field are discussed.     

Constructing a consensus-based prevention outcome measurement instrument

This article describes Ohio's Prevention Evaluation Project (PEP). The purpose of the project was to develop a process and instrument to assess behavioral and attitudinal outcomes in primary drug abuse prevention programs targeting young people aged twelve to seventeen. One of PEP's principal achievements was the inclusion of community prevention program providers from throughout the state in the evaluation instrument development. The effort produced a self-administered questionnaire to capture data on young peoples' drug use practices, attitudes toward drugs, and problematic behaviors. Most significantly, the product produced was the acceptance and endorsement of community-based programs. The forty-one-item questionnaire has good to excellent reliability for virtually all measures, as assessed by the test-retest method. The instrument is a product of a process that brought together a university-based research team, state alcohol and drug abuse prevention administrators, and representatives of public programs. PEP demonstrates how to productively link service providers, administrators, and evaluators to develop a process for assessing the effectiveness of prevention programs. The process and tools described serve as a model for other communities wanting to evaluate their prevention programming.     

Partnering with parents to prevent childhood sexual abuse

Although research demonstrates that child‐focused sexual abuse prevention programmes can teach children personal safety knowledge and skills, childhood sexual abuse (CSA) prevention programmes that involve parents have a number of distinct advantages. The more knowledge parents have about CSA, the greater likelihood they can create safer environments for their children and thus prevent the occurrence of sexual exploitation. Research has demonstrated that parents lack crucial information about CSA and can benefit from even brief educational efforts. This paper will identify potential barriers to participation and offer practical suggestions for enhancing both recruitment and retention rates. Recommendations for parent education programmes are offered, including improving parents' confidence and skills in educating their children about CSA, providing them with parent‐friendly materials to use and developing Internet applications. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A qualitative exploratory study of substance abuse prevention outcomes in a heterogeneous prevention system

The prevention of abuse of alcohol and other drugs is a concern for parents, policy-makers, educators, and social service professionals. Prevention programs are sponsored by many different types of social and educational agencies using a variety of intervention strategies. This article reports a study of a sample of such programs in the state of Nevada. The overall prevention system in the state espouses a "risk and resiliency" approach to prevention. Focus group methodology was used to study perception of outcomes of these programs from the viewpoints of various program stakeholders (youth participating in the programs, parents of participants and program staff). Analysis of the qualitative data yielded findings about potential outcomes as well as implicit program theories. Implications for future planning efforts as well as further evaluation efforts are discussed.     

How aware of child sexual abuse (CSA) are ethnic minority communities? A literature review and suggestions for raising awareness in Australia

A systematic literature review was conducted to help address the gap in national and international knowledge about child sexual abuse (CSA) and ethnic minority communities. This paper reports the findings of that review in relation to the theme of community awareness. The results suggest that awareness of CSA may be low in ethnic minority communities due to misperceptions that it is ‘a Western problem’. This in turn may be associated with norms in the country of origin which are asserted to transfer after migration, such as CSA being seen as a private family matter that does not invite systematic intervention from the state, low media and research attention, widespread acceptance of myths about CSA, and prohibitive norms on discussing matters to do with sex including abuse. Such trends are seen to be the result of, but also then further protect and preserve, collectivist and patriarchal structures. They also make it challenging for raising community awareness. Nevertheless, genuine community engagement through outreach/educational/preventative programs that empower minorities through co-delivery, are high on cultural competency, tailored to specific groups, and use a feminist framework where appropriate, are seen as necessary; they represent investment in minority communities and child safety of children from minority communities. Overall, realistic goals about the effectiveness of outreach educational programs, combined with value for culturally meaningful constructions of child safety, are seen as key toward the success of awareness-raising programs.     

Child Sexual Abuse in Zimbabwe

Although child sexual abuse is a significant public health problem globally, its incidence, prevention, and management is less well described in resource-poor settings. In poorer settings prevention initiatives assume even more importance since resources for managing abused children are severely limited. This article examines the current status of policy and practice related to the prevention of child sexual abuse in Zimbabwe. It identifies implementation challenges and highlights opportunities that could be embraced to reduce CSA in Zimbabwe, based on evidence synthesized from recent work. Although Zimbabwe has a well-established legal and regulatory framework to protect children from child sexual abuse, implementation of existing policies is weak. Financial, human, and material resource constraints are frequently cited to explain limited prevention activity. Effective strategies for the prevention of child sexual abuse should focus on implementing existing legislation, targeting schoolchildren, and getting community involvement. A dedicated budget would help entrench these strategies, but gains can be achieved even in the absence of this.     

Implementation and process evaluation of a school-based drug abuse prevention program: Project Towards No Drug Abuse

The present study provides an implementation, process, and immediate outcomes evaluation of the classroom component of Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND). This project involves development and evaluation of a school-based drug abuse prevention curriculum for continuation high school youth, who are at relatively high risk for drug abuse. Three randomized conditions were evaluated: a standard care, classroom only, and classroom plus school-as-community. The latter condition was an enhanced school-based condition which involved outside-of-classroom meetings and activities. Implementation was high in both program conditions even though this was a higher risk context. Process evaluation data were favorable and did not vary between the two program conditions. Immediate outcomes data (knowledge) was higher in the two program conditions than in the standard care condition. Regarding the classroom program, addition of extra-classroom activities does not appear to alter the quality of delivery of the program.     

Implementation of evidence-based interventions: analyzing critical components for sustainability in community mental health services

This study analyses the implementation and sustainability of evidence-based community mental health services in the form of publicly financed Individual Placement and Support programs. Critical implementation components and program fidelity were assessed after one year. After two years, program fidelity was assessed once again. After three years, the programs’ sustainability was assessed and semi-structured interviews performed, in order to deepen the understanding of implementation. Interviews and documents provided the quantitative and qualitative data, which were analyzed by the use of the Supported Employment Fidelity Scale, the Sustainable Implementation Scale (which was developed in a connecting study), and qualitative content analysis. Despite promising fidelity results after one year, eight out of 14 programs were terminated within three years. Implementation of integrated evidence-based programs in community-based settings is a delicate undertaking. Implementing agencies can benefit from rigorous preparation before program start, especially concerning the circumstances at the organizational level, such as making plans for collaboration, financing and assessments of program fidelity.