Examining the Awareness Levels of Parents on Child Sexual Abuse
Date
2023
Authors
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Publisher
Journal of Indian Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Abstract
Introduction: Child sexual abuse (CSA) is defined as all kinds of actions that an adult uses a child for sexual purposes. The
studies concluded that parents have incomplete or incorrect information and the protection of children against abuse is the
fundamental duty of parents. This study analyses the CSA awareness levels of parents.
Methods: Descriptive survey model is performed. The research sample covers 455 parents. The Child Sexual Abuse
Awareness Scale for Parents and a demographical information form was used for research data collection and analyzed on
SPSS 21.0 software.
Results: A statistically significant difference was found between parents’ CSA awareness levels and age, gender, marital
status, duration of marriage, education level, and number of children. The results showed that parents who were married
for up to 10 years had a university degree, had only 1 child, and had higher awareness of sexual abuse myths. Contrary to
expectations, no significant results were obtained regarding the signs of sexual abuse scores of groups with high awareness
of myths of sexual abuse.
Implications for Research and Practice: Contrary to the literature, the awareness levels of fathers about CSA are
lower than the awareness levels of mothers, and the awareness levels of parents decrease as they get older. There is a need
for further comprehensive and more scientific studies to identify the CSA problem in North Cyprus and propose solutions,
and consequently prevention programs should be developed for professional groups that are related with child and parents.
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Keywords
child sexual abuse, parental knowledge, awareness, International Resources, Cyprus
Citation
Berkmen, B. (2023). Examining the Awareness Levels of Parents on Child Sexual Abuse. Journal of Indian Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 09731342231156498.