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Improving Preschoolers' Comprehension of Sex Abuse Prevention Concepts Through Video Repetition

NCJ Number
180104
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: 1999 Pages: 77-92
Author(s)
Marites F. Pinon Ph.D.; Timothy L. Hulsey Ph.D.; Amy Woodland
Editor(s)
Robert Geffner Ph.D.
Date Published
1999
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study sought to determine whether having preschoolers review video segments they did not comprehend initially would increase their understanding of the sexual abuse prevention concepts presented in the video.
Abstract
It is critically important that preschool-aged children learn sexual abuse prevention concepts because of the clandestine nature of the offense. If children do not have a basic understanding of the nature of sexual assault, then they cannot learn to report it. The types of sex abuse prevention programs shown to be effective with school-aged children do not show similar effectiveness among preschoolers. Among the abuse prevention programs currently available, parents of preschool children prefer video instructional methods. To date, however, such programs have shown limited effectiveness with preschool-aged children (Berrick and Gilbert, 1991). In attempting to determine whether a repetition of video segments not understood initially would increase preschoolers' comprehension of the concepts, this study recruited 37 preschoolers from a university Child Development Center and randomly assigned them to one of two conditions: video repetition or single presentation. Children who reviewed the concepts learned significantly more than children who viewed the segment only once, even though an adult co-viewer explained the content to them. Thus, this efficient and simple method of enhancing preschoolers' understanding of sex abuse prevention holds promise for improving video-based instruction. 3 tables and 36 references