Training and evaluation of robot-based psychological intervention program for preventing child sexual abuse
Date
2024
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Child Protection and Practice
Abstract
Background
and purpose: Preventing child sexual abuse is a health and medical priority in many countries. The risk of sexual abuse can be markedly reduced through education, awareness, and skill-building for children. The purpose of this study was to train and evaluate a robot-based psychological intervention program for preventing child sexual abuse.
Methods
This study had a semiexperimental design that included pre- and posttests as well as a control group. A stratified random sample of 80 individuals was drawn from the population of eight- to ten-year-old children in Ghaen, Iran, in 2018. Subsequently, the sample was randomly divided into two experimental groups and two control groups. The experimental group participated in a robot-based psychological intervention program, for a total of 10 sessions. The control group received no intervention. The tool used to measure children’s knowledge and awareness of sexual abuse was a custom-designed questionnaire developed by Tahan [1]. Participants completed the questionnaire in the pretest, posttest, and follow-up stages. The collected data were analyzed using repeated measures ANCOVA in SPSS (v.25).
Results
The findings demonstrated that educating children about sexual abuse was effective in enhancing their knowledge of appropriate and inappropriate touching (p<0.01). Furthermore, the robot-based cognitive-behavioral intervention program for the prevention of child sexual abuse was effective (p<0.01).
Conclusion
The psychological intervention program increased children's knowledge and awareness concerning the prevention of sexual abuse and associated coping skills. Furthermore, psychological intervention programs were effective in preventing child sexual abuse.
Description
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Article
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Keywords
child sexual abuse, prevention, Iran, intervention, International publications, robot
Citation
Tahan, M., Afrooz, G., & Bolhari, J. (2024). Training and evaluation of robot-based psychological intervention program for preventing child sexual abuse. Child Protection and Practice, 100030.