IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v121y2021ics0190740920322325.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Examination of parents’ attitudes toward and efforts to discuss child sexual abuse prevention with their children

Author

Listed:
  • Prikhidko, Alena
  • Kenny, Maureen C.

Abstract

Prevention efforts for child sexual abuse (CSA) have focused on programming for children through schools while few parent-based programs are available in the community. Research over the past few decades show that parents lack access to such programs and aren't actively discussing CSA concepts with their children and continue to possess incorrect knowledge about risks.This study aims to analyzing parents’ attitudes toward CSA, and their engagement in discussions about CSA with children.Three hundred and two parents (90% mothers) across the US completed an online survey. This study employed an explanatory mixed methods research design. Descriptive data analysis focused on exploring the relationships between socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge about sexual abuse prevention, and communication about sexual abuse prevention. While most parents (64%) engaged in such discussions, they still desired more information from trusted sources and needed developmentally appropriate materials.Parents reported the need for education through courses, trainings, and/or support groups.The prevention concepts parents talked to their children about differed based on the gender of the child, as well as the marital status of the parent. Single parents discussed less CSA concepts than married.White/Non-Hispanic parents were more educated about sexual abuse compared to Hispanic/Latino parents and talked to their children more about prevention concepts. Parents also discussed CSA with girls more compared to boys. The majority of parents are discussing CSA and have adequate knowledge about prevention concepts, but still desire more assistance from experts. Some parents are in need of more assistance in conducting CSA discussions with their children.

Suggested Citation

  • Prikhidko, Alena & Kenny, Maureen C., 2021. "Examination of parents’ attitudes toward and efforts to discuss child sexual abuse prevention with their children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:121:y:2021:i:c:s0190740920322325
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105810
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740920322325
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105810?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Huang, Yu-Ju & Mohr, Gabriela & Cheung, Monit & Leung, Patrick, 2024. "Parental access to ‘Sexual Conviction Record Check’ sex offender registry in Hong Kong," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:121:y:2021:i:c:s0190740920322325. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.