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Evaluation of second step child protection videos: A randomized controlled trial
Amanda B Nickerson1, Jennifer A Livingston2, Kimberly Kamper-DeMarco2
1Graduate School of Education, Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, United States.
Insights
The Second Step program videos significantly boosted parents' knowledge and motivation regarding child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention. This increased motivation, in turn, led to more parent-child conversations about personal safety and CSA.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Public Health Education
- Family Studies
Background:
- Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) prevention requires effective parent engagement.
- Parental knowledge and motivation are key factors in discussing sensitive topics with children.
- Existing interventions need evaluation for their impact on parent-child communication regarding safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of the Second Step Child Protection Unit videos on parents' knowledge, motivation, and communication regarding CSA prevention.
- To assess whether the intervention leads to direct or mediated changes in parent-child discussions about personal safety.
- To determine the long-term effects of the intervention at a two-month follow-up.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 438 parents of children aged 3-11 years.
- Intervention group watched Second Step videos; control group watched videos on child obesity.
- Data collected via pre-test, immediate post-test, and two-month follow-up using MANCOVAs and mediation analyses.
Main Results:
- The intervention group showed significant increases in CSA knowledge and motivation compared to the control group.
- The intervention had a significant mediated effect on parent self-reported conversations, primarily through increased knowledge and motivation.
- Increased parental motivation immediately post-intervention directly predicted increased conversations at two months.
Conclusions:
- The Second Step videos are effective in enhancing parental knowledge and motivation for discussing CSA prevention.
- While not directly increasing conversations, the intervention indirectly improves parent-child communication about safety through a motivational pathway.
- The findings support the use of targeted educational videos to empower parents in child sexual abuse prevention efforts.
Abstract:
This randomized controlled trial (RCT) examined the effects of the Second Step Child Protection Unit videos on parents' knowledge, motivation, and self-reported communication with their child about personal safety and childhood sexual abuse prevention. Parents of children between the ages of 3-11 years were randomly assigned to the intervention (watching the Second Step videos) or the control (watching videos on child obesity) groups. They completed measures assessing their knowledge of child sexual abuse (CSA), motivation to discuss CSA, self-reported discussions of CSA, child history of victimization, parent exposure to CSA, and comparable measures on topics of health and nutrition at pre-test. Participants viewed the videos one week later and immediately completed post-test 1, and then two months later completed the measures again. Multivariate Analyses of Covariance (MANCOVAs) and serial mediation analyses were conducted with the final sample of 438. The intervention group, compared to the control group, had significant increases in knowledge (specifically, less restrictive stereotype beliefs about CSA) and motivation to talk with their children about CSA both immediately after the intervention and at the two-month follow-up. Although the intervention did not have a direct effect on parent self-reported conversations with their children about CSA, it had a mediated effect. The intervention increased knowledge regarding CSA, which then predicted motivation, which in turn predicted conversations. The most pronounced effect was the intervention's direct effect of increasing motivation immediately after the intervention, which then increased self-reported conversations with children about personal safety and CSA two months later.
