Child sexual abuse is a widespread social problem that negatively affects victims, families, communities, and society. This article briefly describes the scope and consequences of child sexual abuse and briefly critiques child-focused personal safety educational programs designed to prevent sexual victimization. The final section offers…

This study examined the knowledgeability of child care workers (n=97) regarding their rights and responsibilities in reporting suspected child sexual abuse. Day care personnel knew significantly less about procedures for reporting suspected abuse and their protection under the law (when compared to child sexual abuse experts). (Author/DB)

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify the distinct developmental experiences associated with child sexual abuse and rape. Method: For 269 sexual offenders (137 rapists and 132 child sexual abusers), developmental experiences were recorded from a behavioral checklist, a parental-bonding survey, and a sexual history questionnaire. Offender…

A survey was conducted to measure the attitudes and beliefs of parents of preschoolers about child sexual abuse prevention programs. Surveys were distributed to parents at various programs serving 3- to 5-year-old children in a Colorado community. The survey gathered information on parents' demographic characteristics, involvement in prevention…

Many early childhood educators encounter children who exhibit sexual behavior and are not sure how to respond. Although they have had training in childhood development, sexual development is rarely given the attention it deserves. At the same time, early childhood education personnel often get training in child abuse and in their responsibilities…

Parents (N=45) of young children participated in either a child sexual abuse (CSA)-prevention workshop or a home-safety workshop. At follow-up interviews, parents who had participated in the CSA workshop reported having had significantly more discussions about CSA with their children than did control group parents. The coping appraisal components…

The reliability of the "What If" Situations Test was studied to determine its utility as an evaluation tool for young children (N=406), which would provide a measurement tool with demonstrated psychometric properties for evaluating child sexual abuse-prevention programs. Advantages and limitations of the measure are presented and…

Objective: This study examined the ability of children to recognize "good" people as potential perpetrators prior to and after completing a personal safety program. There were three objectives to the study. The first was to determine whether young children could recognize the inappropriateness of a sexual request coming from people described as…

Preschoolers' knowledge of genital names facilitates disclosure of sexual abuse and provides the foundation for subsequent sex education. Surveys of preschoolers in the early 1990s found that few children knew proper names for the genitals. To determine knowledge among a current cohort of culturally diverse children, 128 preschool children were…

Parents of 26 children who participated in a school-based sexual abuse prevention program were surveyed regarding their children's reactions to the program. The children were asked to rate their fears of various people and situations both before and after participating in the program. Results are presented. (Author/MT)

School-based sexual abuse prevention programs implemented in grades K-6 are summarized according to mode and content of presentation, audience and trainer characteristics, and program length. Means for conducting systematic evaluations of these programs are needed in order to enable educators to decide relative advantages and disadvantages of…

Examines whether sexually abused children can benefit from learning knowledge and skills thought to assist in preventing or escaping sexual abuse. A personal safety program was taught to 13 previously abused children and 13 children with no abuse history. After program participation, both groups of children (ages 3-7) demonstrated significant…

Evaluation of a personal safety program with 172 preschoolers found that participants demonstrated greater knowledge about sexual abuse and higher levels of personal safety skills than controls, that children taught by their parents recognized inappropriate-touch requests better than children taught by teachers, and that children taught at both…

To compare the effectiveness of parents and teachers as instructors of a personal safety program, 61 low-income preschoolers participated in either a home-based, school-based, or control program. No significant differences were found between groups taught by teachers or parents. Both groups demonstrated greater knowledge of sexual abuse and…

This study evaluated a personal safety educational program designed for Latino families attending preschools in a large metropolis. Seventy-eight children who participated in the Kids Learning About Safety program were compared to 45 control children. Compared with controls, participating children demonstrated enhanced ability to recognize…