Evaluation of a child sexual abuse prevention program: A question of efficacy.

Abstract

The Study of National Incidence and Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect (1988) reports cases of sexual abuse have tripled since 1980. Such reports have led to a variety of preventive efforts which have targeted school children. However, few of the preventive programs have been empirically validated or systematically evaluated. Thus, little is known about how effective they are. This study examines the effectiveness of one such program, Bubbylonian Encounter, with regard to formats for different grade levels with respect to retention. In the present research, the program is presented to 155 elementary school children in 3 grades (K, 2nd, 4th). And at each grade level, 3 presentation formats are used (lecture, video, theatrical play). Thus, a nine-cell matrix results. Children are interviewed (individually) in order to determine the extent to which they have learned concepts presented. The interviews are conducted within a week prior to and following the program presentation. Four months later, the children are interviewed again as a follow-up to assess retention. The resultant analysis indicates there is an increase in knowledge after participating in the sexual abuse prevention program, Bubbylonian Encounter. However, some concepts are better retained when delivered by lecture format than by play format or video format. The fourth graders consistently perform better than the younger children. And, students are able to retain most of the concepts four months later--at least 82% of the responses to the questions at follow-up are answered correctly. However, the concept regarding the perpetrator being someone known to the victim was difficult for the children to grasp. The students also had difficulty defining sexual abuse.