How Do Survivor and Mandatory Reporter Status Correlate with Program Outcomes for an Adult-Focused Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program?

This exploratory study investigated group differences and pre-post changes in knowledge, beliefs, and behavior by mandatory reporters and Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) survivor status for a CSA prevention training designed for the general public. Of the 8,114 study participants, 32% identified as having experienced CSA, and 77% indicated they were mandatory reporters for child abuse and neglect. Mandatory reporters had higher baseline knowledge about CSA than those who were not mandatory reporters and reported more CSA preventative behaviors. Mandatory reporters continued to have higher levels of knowledge following the training. Survivors of CSA also had higher baseline knowledge about CSA and preventative behavior scores than individuals who are not survivors of CSA. Unlike mandatory reporters, they experienced fewer increases in knowledge. At posttest, there was no evidence of a difference in knowledge between CSA survivors and non-CSA survivors. For items related to beliefs, mandatory reporters had higher baseline scores than other participants. However, they had smaller gains, so mandatory reporters and non-mandatory reporters had more similar beliefs related to CSA after the training. There were few differences between CSA survivors and non-survivors on baseline beliefs related to CSA, though CSA survivors reported greater increases in beliefs that CSA prevention is their responsibility and in the idea that they know what to do to prevent CSA. These results have significant results for the development and evaluation of trauma-informed prevention programming.

Stewards of Children: A Qualitative Study of Organization and Community Impact.

Child sexual abuse is a persistent public health, human rights, and social justice issue that continues at unacceptable levels. This qualitative study investigated organizational and community impact of Stewards of Children (SOC) in the context of a statewide initiative to prevent child sexual abuse. Participants, representing 11 sites, were SOC trainers or in administrative and leadership roles with their organizations. The study focused on four research questions: 1) How has your organization been impacted (by SOC), if at all? 2) How have your relationships with other organizations and groups changed, if at all? 3) How has the perception of your organization changed in the community, if at all? and 4) Have you noticed changes in your community as a result of Stewards of Children trainings? The findings include three themes and seven subthemes. Participants uniformly agreed that SOC had an impact on their organization, their relationship with partner and new-partner organizations, and that it contributed to increased awareness about a) the problem of child sexual abuse overall, b) their organization among multiple groups and partners, and c) the full array of services and expertise provided by SOC organizations.