Research on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children (From Coping With Family Violence: Research and Policy Perspectives, P 300-309, 1988, Gerald T Hotaling, et al, eds. -- See NCJ-114444)

• NCJ Number: 114463
• Author(s): J R Conte
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 10 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Programs to prevent the sexual victimization of children present several methodological and ethical problems, as shown by some of the evaluation reports that are currently available.

Abstract

Prevention programs may differ in such areas as the occupation of the trainer, the age of children served, the length of training, the terms used to describe the prevention content, and the curriculum materials used. However, they generally rest on a common set of prevention concepts relating to acceptable and unacceptable touching, control of access to one's body, and assertive ways to respond to abuse. Research about the impacts of these programs has encountered several methodological issues, including the choice of dependent variables, ways to test the acquisition of skills, ways to measure unintended effects like fear, the timing of the measurements, and the research design. Nevertheless, evaluation efforts already completed have addressed many questions about the effects of prevention programs, and knowledge about prevention is likely to expand greatly in the immediate future. Cooperative efforts between prevention evaluators and researchers will aid this effort. 11 references.