Empowering and protecting children by enhancing knowledge, skills and well-being: A randomized trial of Learn to BE SAFE with Emmy™

Dale, R. Barry; Shanley, Dianne C.; Zimmer‐Gembeck, Melanie J.; Lines, Katrina; Pickering, Kaye; White, Codi

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.07.016

Cited by 31 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…This study extends an earlier successful Australian study of a specific child protection education program, Learn to Be Safe with Emmy ™ [ 20 ]. This was a quasi-experimental study in which classrooms were randomised to conditions (program and waitlist); with the waitlist comparison group receiving the program after they completed post-test measures (5 weeks after administration of baseline measures).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Cluster randomised-control trial for an Australian child protection education program: Study protocol for the Learn to be safe with Emmy and friends™

et al. 2015

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BackgroundChild maltreatment has severe short-and long-term consequences for children’s health, development, and wellbeing. Despite the provision of child protection education programs in many countries, few have been rigorously evaluated to determine their effectiveness. We describe the design of a multi-site gold standard evaluation of an Australian school-based child protection education program. The intervention has been developed by a not-for-profit agency and comprises 5 1-h sessions delivered to first grade students (aged 5–6 years) in their regular classrooms. It incorporates common attributes of effective programs identified in the literature, and aligns with the Australian education curriculum.Methods/DesignA three-site cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) of Learn to be safe with Emmy and friends™ will be conducted with children in approximately 72 first grade classrooms in 24 Queensland primary (elementary) schools from three state regions, over a period of 2 years. Entire schools will be randomised, using a computer generated list of random numbers, to intervention and wait-list control conditions, to prevent contamination effects across students and classes. Data will be collected at baseline (pre-assessment), immediately after the intervention (post-assessment), and at 6-, 12-, and 18-months (follow-up assessments). Outcome assessors will be blinded to group membership. Primary outcomes assessed are children’s knowledge of program concepts; intentions to use program knowledge, skills, and help-seeking strategies; actual use of program material in a simulated situation; and anxiety arising from program participation. Secondary outcomes include a parent discussion monitor, parent observations of their children’s use of program materials, satisfaction with the program, and parental stress. A process evaluation will be conducted concurrently to assess program performance.DiscussionThis RCT addresses shortcomings in previous studies and methodologically extends research in this area by randomising at school-level to prevent cross-learning between conditions; providing longer-term outcome assessment than any previous study; examining the degree to which parents/guardians discuss intervention content with children at home; assessing potential moderating/mediating effects of family and child demographic variables; testing an in-vivo measure to assess children’s ability to discriminate safe/unsafe situations and disclose to trusted adults; and testing enhancements to existing measures to establish greater internal consistency.Trial registrationAustralian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ACTRN12615000917538). Registered (02/09/2015).

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Cluster randomised-control trial for an Australian child protection education program: Study protocol for the Learn to be safe with Emmy and friends™

et al. 2015

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“…Unfortunately, this research is dated and more research is needed on the effect of contemporary protection messages. Although one recent protective behaviors evaluation reported no adverse anxiety postprogram, a general measure of anxiety was used rather than asking participants (or significant others) of the possible side effects of the program (Dale et al, 2016).…”

Section: Unintended Outcomes Of Csa Education For Young Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Opportunities: Parenting, Programs, and the Reduction of Risk

et al. 2017

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To date, child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention has relied largely on child-focused education, teaching children how to identify, avoid, and disclose sexual abuse. The purpose of this article is to explore how prevention opportunities can include parents in new and innovative ways. We propose that parents can play a significant role as protectors of their children via two pathways: (i) directly, through the strong external barriers afforded by parent supervision, monitoring, and involvement; and (ii) indirectly, by promoting their children's self-efficacy, competence, well-being, and self-esteem, which the balance of evidence suggests will help them become less likely targets for abuse and more able to respond appropriately and disclose abuse if it occurs. In this article, we first describe why teaching young children about CSA protective behaviors might not be sufficient for prevention. We then narratively review the existing research on parents and prevention and the parenting and family circumstances that may increase a child's risk of experiencing sexual abuse. Finally, we make a number of recommendations for future approaches to prevention that may better inform and involve parents and other adult protectors in preventing CSA.

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“…One common criticism of CM interventions is the lack of sufficient rigor to warrant widespread dissemination (Dale et al 2016). Taken on their own, these pilot results only begin to demonstrate the evidence needed for widespread dissemination of the program.…”

Section: Degree Of Rigormentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Thus, CM prevention programs are not a new concept, but there are some methodological and implementation issues associated with many of the programs. Many of the CM prevention programs tend to be single-harm focused, for example, focusing on only one type of abuse -usually sexual abuse (Dale et al 2016). Multiple studies examined the impact of child sexual abuse prevention programs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A further criticism leveled at these programs is a general lack of rigor in the evaluation procedure. It is argued that many of these programs are delivered universally without sufficient evidence to justify their continued implementation (Dale et al 2016;Pulido et al 2015). As such, largescale efficacy trials are necessary to make informed decisions about the effective implementation of these types of programs (Peterson et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Teaching Youth to Resist Abuse: Evaluation of a Strengths-Based Child Maltreatment Curriculum for High School Students

Diaz

Wolfersteig

Moreland

et al. 2020

Journ Child Adol Trauma

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Child maltreatment (CM) is a serious and prevalent public health problem in the United States (U.S.) yet programming to combat the issue often overlooks high school aged youth (those aged 14-17). In 2017, over 90,000 youth in the U.S. experienced CM during their high school years (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2019). This manuscript will highlight the importance of prevention programs for youth affected by child maltreatment and report the findings of a pilot study that examined the effectiveness of the Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe Prevention Education Curriculum among high school students. The purpose of the pilot study was to determine if the revised and expanded curriculum for grades 9-12 was feasible and to examine the validity of the new survey items, including the RESIST strategy questions. The pilot study utilized a two-phase non-probability convenience sample to evaluate high school student gains in knowledge of safety related resistance strategies. High school students (N = 269) attending one urban charter public high school (grades 9-12) in the Southwest who completed pre-and postsurvey RESIST strategy items participated in the pilot. The results indicated that students receiving the Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe Prevention Education Curriculum increased their identification and knowledge of safety related resistance strategies.

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Empowering and protecting children by enhancing knowledge, skills and well-being: A randomized trial of Learn to BE SAFE with Emmy™

Cited by 31 publications

References 17 publications

Cluster randomised-control trial for an Australian child protection education program: Study protocol for the Learn to be safe with Emmy and friends™

Cluster randomised-control trial for an Australian child protection education program: Study protocol for the Learn to be safe with Emmy and friends™

Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Opportunities: Parenting, Programs, and the Reduction of Risk

Teaching Youth to Resist Abuse: Evaluation of a Strengths-Based Child Maltreatment Curriculum for High School Students

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