Safe @ last: The evaluation of a child sexual abuse prevention program for elementary students

Dellanita Steele Fuqua, Tennessee State University

Abstract

Based on the research, an average of one in four girls and one in six boys is sexually abused each year. Education is the key to help keep children safe and free from harm. This study examined the Safe @ Last prevention program, a safety program that educates boys and girls about how to protect themselves. This study was conducted to evaluate the amount of knowledge retained by students participating in the Safe @ Last prevention program. The Safe @ Last program was designed by the Rape and Sexual Abuse Center in Nashville, Tennessee in 1997. Permission was given by the Rape and Sexual Abuse Center and the Nashville Metropolitan Public School system in Nashville, Tennessee. There were 400 participants in first through fourth grades in this study. All students were administered the Safe @ Last pre-test. They were then taught the Safe @ Last curriculum by the school Guidance Counselor, followed by administration of the Safe @ Last post-test. Five null hypotheses were tested to determine if there was a significant increase in scores from pre-test to post-test. The paired samples t-test was calculated to compare the sample means to determine if there was sufficient evidence to infer that the means of the groups increased. The findings indicated that four of the five null hypotheses were rejected, as there were significant increases between pre-test and post-test scores. One null hypothesis was retained as there was not a significant increase between pre-test and post-test scores.

Subject Area

Social work|School counseling|Curriculum development

Recommended Citation

Dellanita Steele Fuqua, "Safe @ last: The evaluation of a child sexual abuse prevention program for elementary students" (2008). ETD Collection for Tennessee State University. Paper AAI3307311.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3307311

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