Evaluating the Evaluators: Child Sexual Abuse Prevention; Do We Know It Works? (From Child Sexual Abuse: Critical Perspectives on Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment, P 27-40, 1991, Christopher R Bagley and Ray J Thomlison, eds. -- See NCJ-132818)

• NCJ Number: 132820
• Author(s): I Gentles; E Cassidy
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: Wall and Emerson, Inc
• Publication Type: Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

A critique of the literature on the evaluation of child-sexual-abuse prevention programs in Canada is followed by an agenda for future research related to the evaluation of such programs.

Abstract

The assessment concludes that to date there have been few well-controlled evaluations of child-sexual-abuse prevention programs. This has been due largely to unclear program goals, the paucity of reliable instruments that measure outcome, and the difficulty of controlling for intervening factors in community research. Regarding program goals, this paper advises that a statement of goals should include primary prevention, disclosure, and long-term results. Moreover, the results should be quantifiable and demonstrable. A review of the forms of evaluation of child-sexual-abuse prevention programs found that almost all of the published literature in the field involves cognitive-assimilation and experimental-simulation evaluations, both of which have significant design flaws. Longitudinal evaluations are proposed. The proposed research agenda addresses the need for developmental appropriateness in prevention programs for children under 10 years old, gaps in the prevalence statistics, the scarcity of longitudinal research, the identity of children at risk for sexual abuse, the identity of those at risk for becoming abusers, and whether there is any link between exposure to pornography and child sexual abuse. 59 references