AUTHOR=Xu Ketong , Fu Jiuqiang , Yang Jianming 

TITLE=Enhancing Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Knowledge With an Educational Toolkit -Evaluation of the Chinese Doll Program

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=69

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2024.1606641

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2024.1606641

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objective:</bold> In countries with conservative attitudes towards sex and limited resources to prevent child sexual abuse, culturally adapted CSA prevention programs are essential. This study outlines a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of the Doll program for preventing CSA in the specific context of China.</p><p><bold>Method:</bold> 181 children were pre-tested and post-tested (5 weeks later) for knowledge of sexual abuse prevention. Children were assigned to one of three groups; 1) child only (<italic>n</italic> = 60); 2) child and parent (<italic>n</italic> = 60); and 3) control (<italic>n</italic> = 61).</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Children in groups 1 and 2 showed significant increases (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) in scores on the Appropriate Touch Scale (ATS) and the Inappropriate Touch Scale (ITS), whereas those in the control group did not show a significant increase in ATS scores, but their scores on ITS significantly increased (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). Children in group 2 showed significantly increased ITS scores compared to group 1 (<italic>p</italic> = 0.016).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Doll program effectively enhances children’s CSA prevention knowledge, with parental engagement demonstrating a positive impact on the program.</p>