NCJ Number
168494
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 21 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1997) Pages: 975-987
Date Published
1997
Length
13 pages
Annotation
A meta-analysis of 16 evaluation studies of school programs designed to prevent child sexual abuse focused on the effectiveness of these programs and the impacts of factors such as age, program duration, and sample size.
Abstract
The evaluation studies were identified through searches of the PsycLit, ERIC, and Medline databases from January 1993 to March 1993, using the key words child sexual abuse prevention. The analysis focused on a combined group of 2,436 experimental and 1,544 control children and follow-up groups of 1,180 experimental and 520 control children ranging from kindergarten to 11-12 years old. The data were analyzed by means of multiple regression techniques. Results revealed that these programs succeed in teaching children sexual abuse concepts and skills in self-protection. Intervention characteristics such as the duration and content of the program, as well as child characteristics such as age and socioeconomic status were important moderators of the size of the effect. Findings corroborate and refine the positive conclusions of traditional narrative reviews. Findings indicated that the most beneficial programs focus on skill training and allow sufficient time for children to integrate self-protection skills into their cognitive repertoires. Tables and 47 references (Author abstract modified)