Effectiveness of information package on knowledge of parents regarding child

sexual abuse -A pilot study Report

ABSTRACT
Introduction: Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a serious public health issue with an effect on children,
parents, community and society at large. CSA is a global phenomenon with high prevalence. Prevention
programs and information targeting children, parents and other adults must be mobilized to ensure safety
of the children. Objectives: 1.To assess the knowledge of parents regarding child sexual abuse in
experimental and control group. 2. To determine the effectiveness of information package on knowledge
of parents regarding prevention of child sexual abuse by comparing the experimental and control group.
3. To find out the association between pretest knowledge of parents with their selected socio-
demographic variables. Methodology: An evaluative approach with experimental design was used for the
study. The study was done in Jaihind and Baldwin public school Bangalore. The sample size of the study
consisted of 40 parents, 20 in experimental and 20 in the control group selected by simple random
sampling technique using lottery method. Structured knowledge questionnaire was used to collect the
data.Results: The findings showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and
control group parents in terms of knowledge, which indicated that the information package was effective.
Conclusion: Parents and caregivers must be empowered with knowledge to prevent child sexual abuse
using Information packages and education programs.

Key words: Child sexual abuse (CSA), Parents, knowledge, information package

INTRODUCTION

Sexual abuse of children is a subject of great concern for all in the community. Child
sexual abuse is the violation of the basic rights of children. Children of all age group and
gender are susceptible to sexual abuse. It may be difficult to talk about child sexual
abuse and many people do not readily acknowledge that sexual abuse of children of all
ages including infants happens every day. CSA is a highly traumatic experience and
has got several immediate and long term consequences.

Sexual abuse is traumatic for the child victim. Usually the adult offender takes advantage
of the child’s innocence, trust or affection. In many cases, the abuser threatens or bribes
the child to keep silent. Because of the threats, fear and embarrassment, most children
do not tell anyone about the abuse. Keeping the secret of abuse only causes more
emotional stress for the child and the family. Because of the betrayal by an adult, the child
feels a lot of guilt. Often the child feels the abuse is his or her fault. It becomes difficult for
abused children to trust people. Anger, guilt and fear become common feelings for
abused children. Childhood sexual abuse can cause lifelong psychological and physical
damage. The emotional effects of sexual abuse may not be evident immediately. Victims
may discover abuse related problems as adults. Adult survivors of childhood sexual
abuse may find the abuse affects their ability to trust people and form close relationships 1.

Sexual abuse of children is a very real problem in India and the situation is aided by the
silence surrounding the offence and the absence of effective legislation before the year
2012. The problem persists with staggering incidence. Prevalence of child sexual abuse
is difficult to determine as most of the child sexual abuse cases go unreported. Only se
vere forms of sexual abuse come to the surface. The issue of child sexual abuse is slow
ly becoming a more recognized issue 2.

Keeping children safe is one of the most important things to do as parents, educators, or
other caring adults. To do this, we must equip them with the knowledge and skills they
need to avoid risky situations, and to give them an understanding of their rights to protect
their own body. Research supports the effectiveness of parental involvement in personal
safety education. Several studies have shown that parents, when provided with
developmentally appropriate materials for their children and instruction and support from
schools, can be very effective instructors of personal safety3.

A survey study was done with first objective to understand knowledge, attitudes and edu
cation practice of child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention among parents of grade one stud
ents in Nanle county of Henan Province, China and second to provide reference of CSA
prevention education in rural areas. An anonymous questionnaire was given to parents
of grade one students from 2 elementary schools. Results showed that, 81.9% of the pa
rents agreed to school CSA prevention education; only 28.1% believed that children wer
e most likely to be sexually abused by familiar people, and 40.9% informed their children
to let parents or trusty family members know if sexual abuse happens. Study concluded
that the parents lack the basic knowledge of CSA prevention. The CSA prevention educ
ation should be implemented among pupils' parents4.
Parents trained in prevention more likely to communicate with their children about child
sexual abuse
The “What Do I Say Now?” family video was evaluated as part of a one-hour child sexual abuse
(CSA) prevention workshop. Forty-five parents with children aged two to six were randomly
assigned to either the CSA or a home-safety workshop (control group). A post-test survey was
given to parents assessing beliefs related to CSA, and telephone interviews regarding parent-child
communication about CSA were conducted two to eight weeks later. Parents attending the CSA
workshop were more likely than control parents to believe child education could be effective in
preventing abuse. CSA-group parents also reported significantly greater communications with
their children about CSA at follow-up. Results showed that the teaching program titled” What Do
I Say Now? Video” increased parent-child communication about child sexual abuse5.

Parents being the primary caregivers are logically the ones from whom children may seek help in crisis,
hence educating them about abuse CSA related aspects can be an important part of the prevention. In
view of the above facts this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of information package on child
sexual abuse on knowledge of parents.

OBJECTIVES

1. To determine the knowledge of parents regarding child sexual abuse in

experimental and control group.
2. To determine the effectiveness of information package on knowledge of parents
regarding prevention of child sexual abuse by comparing the experimental and
control group.
3. To find out the association between pretest knowledge of parents with their
selected socio-demographic variables.
METHODOLOGY

An experimental research design, with an evaluative research approach was used. The

study was done in Jaihind international school Bangalore as experimental group and

Baldwin public school Bangalore as control group. The sample size of the study consisted
of 40 parents, 20 in experimental and 20 in the control group selected by simple random

sampling technique using lottery method. Data collection tool consisted of a semi

structured questionnaire with of items on demographic variables and a structured

knowledge questionnaire on child sexual abuse. Validity and reliability(r=0.8 split half karl

pearson reliability mehtod) of the of the tool was established. Prior to data collection

official permission was obtained from the head of institution. Written consent was

obtained from the parents taken after explaining the purpose of the study. Pre-test

questionnaire was administered followed by a structured teaching programme on child

sexual abuse to the experimental group. Post-test was done on the 7th day to evaluate

the outcome. Similar process was followed for control group where in parents filled the

pre-test questionnaire on day one. No intervention was done. Post test was done on day

7 followed by distribution of booklet containing information on child sexual abuse so hat

control group parents also benefit by receiving similar information. The obtained data

were analyzed with using descriptive and inferential statistics.

RESULTS

I. Demographic variables of subjects in experimental and control group

Out of 20 subjects in experimental group, majority (55%) were between the age group
of 30-40 years. Majority (70%) were males, (95%) were Hindus , 50% had two
children, 35% had high school education and 35 PUC,45% had private jobs, 59 % had
income less than 10,000, 40% had income between 10,000 – 20,000. 70% belonged o
joint family. 85% subject had some information about CSA. Source of information was
electronic media for 65 % subjects. 6 (30 %) subjects had come across victims of CSA
among family/friend circle. Only 25% subjects had given any CSA related teaching to
their child.

In control group, majority (50%) were between the age group of 30-40 years. Equal
(50%) each were male and females, (90%) were Hindus , 55% had two children, 40%
were PUC passed, 50% had 10,000-20,000 income, 55% belonged to nuclear family, 8o
% subject had some information about CSA. Source of information was electronic
media for 80% subjects. Majority (95%) subjects had not come across any victims of
CSA among family/friend circle. 93.3% participants had no awareness of any
educational program on CSA. 75% subjects had not given any CSA related teaching to
their child. (Table 1).

II: Knowledge level of parents in experimental and control group

Majority of the subjects in both the experimental (75%) and control group 80%) had poor
knowledge level. Whereas The Posttest knowledge levels of subjects in experimental
group had increased (40% good, 55% average) compared to the control group where in
there was no change in their level of knowledge. (Table 2 & Figure1)

III. Pretest knowledge of parents in experimental and control group before

intervention

It was observed that the calculated independent t test value for overall pretest
knowledge score of experimental and control group is 1.094 at p (0.280) which was not
significant indicating that both the groups were homogenous in terms of their pretest
knowledge scores (Table 3).

IV: Effectiveness of information package in terms of post test knowledge scores

of experimental and control group

The calculated independent t test value for overall post test knowledge score of
experimental and control group was 9.119 at p (.000) which was significant. This
showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control
group parents in terms of knowledge, which indicated that the information package was
effective. (Table 4)

V. Association between knowledge of parents with their selected socio-demographic

variables.
There was no association between the pretest knowledge scores of parents in both the
groups and their demographic characteristics.

DISCUSSION

Present study results revealed that the parents in both the experimental and control group
had poor knowledge regarding child sexual abuse and its preventive aspects, before the
educational intervention. This fact is congruent with a similar study conducted by Tremblay
& Begin) to examine the impact on the knowledge of kindergarten-aged children’s mothers, who
attended a workshop on the issues and prevention of sexual abuse toward children as well as
children’s sex education. All mothers participating in the study were given a questionnaire about
their knowledge before and after the experimental group received treatment. The results showed
that the experimental group mothers improved their knowledge due to their participation in this
training. 6.

According to David Finkelhor, a renowned CSA research scholar the advantage of prevention
education for parents is that if parents learn to educate their own children, the repetition of
information from a trusted source can be more effective than the isolated classroom experience.
Parental level one to one communication adjusted to individual child can enhance the effectiveness
of teaching. Child health nurses can play a vital role in disseminating information and education
regarding CSA to parents in hospitals and community and schools.

CONCLUSION

Children by nature are particularly vulnerable to all types of abuse because of their temporary
helplessness and dependence on adults and their lack of knowledge about dangers and self-
protection. Child sexual abuse can be prevented through awareness, education and skill
development. Parents trained in prevention more are likely to communicate with their children
about child sexual abuse. Nursing professionals among others must initiate divulging CSA
education to parents as primary prevention intervention.

Table 1. Frequency and percentage distribution of subjects according to their

demographic characteristics
N=40

Control Experimental
Group(n=20) Groupn(n=20)
SL DEMOGRAPHIC
NO. VARIABLE OPTIONS F % F %
20-30 9 45 7 35
1 Age 30.1-40 11 55 10 50
 40.1-50 - - 2 10
50.1-60 - - 1 5
Male 14 70 10 50
2 Gender Female 6 30 10 50
Hindu 19 95 18 90
3 Religion Muslim 1 5 2 10
one 9 45 8 40

Two 10 50 11 55

5 No. of Children Three 1 5 1 5

Primary 2 10 - -
Higher
primary 2 10 1 5
High
school 7 35 7 35
PUC 5 25 8 40
Educational
6 qualification graduate 4 20 4 20
Housewife 6 30 13 65
Govt job 1 5 1 5
Private
job 9 45 3 15
Business 2 10 2 10
7 Occupation Other 2 10 1 5
<10,000 10 50 3 15
10-20,000 8 40 10 50
20-30,000 - - 2 10
30-40,000 1 5 2 10
40-50,000 1 5 1 5
8 Income >50,000 - - 2 10
Nuclear 6 30 11 55
9 Type of family Joint 14 70 9 45
Information on Yes 17 85 16 80
10 CSA No 3 15 4 20
Print
Media 4 20 4 20
Electronic
Media 13 65 16 80
Source of Friends,
11 Information relatives, 3 15 - -
 Yes 6 30 1 5
Information on
any CSA victim
12 in family/friends No 14 70 19 95
Given any Yes 5 25 5 25
teaching about
13 CSA to Child No 15 75 15 75

Table -2 Frequency and percentage distribution of pre-test and post-test levels of

knowledge of parents

Level of Experimental group (n=20) Control group (n=20)

knowledge
Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test

F % F % F % F %

Poor 15 75 1 5 16 80 16 80

Average 5 25 11 55 4 20 4 20

Good - - 8 40 - - - -

Figure: 2 Bar diagram showing pretest and post test levels of knowledge of parents
in experimental and control group
 100
Knowledge of parents
90 80 80
75
80
70 55
percentage

60
50 40
40 25
30 20 20
20 5
10 0 0 0
0
poor average high poor average high
experimental group control group

pretest post test

Table 3: Mean, standard deviation, and independent t test between the pre test
Knowledge scores of experimental and control group parents.
N=40

ASPECT Test Experimental Control t-test for equality

Group Group of Means

M SD M SD Sig.T df
Inference
(2- value
tailed)
Overall PRE 13.75 3.582 12.55 3.332 1.094 38 .280 NS
Knowledge TEST

Table 4: Mean, standard deviation, and independent t test between the Post test
Knowledge scores of experimental and control group parents.
N=40

ASPECT Test Experimental Control t-test for equality

Group Group of Means
 M SD M SD T df
Sig. Inference
value (2-
tailed)
Overall POST 22.75 3.945 13.10 2.614 9.119 38 .000 S
Knowledge TEST

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