Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs for Kindergartners: A Survey of Public Actions, Attitudes, and Beliefs in Kuwait

  • Published:
Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of a child sexual abuse prevention programs in preschool children in Kuwait. Three hundred and twenty participants were conveniently selected to complete a self-administered 57-item questionnaire. The attitudes, beliefs, and actions of participants related to CSA prevention were examined. Results reported minimum actions taken by participants in relation to CSA prevention, limited knowledge of how to handle the subject with the children, strong agreement with the suggested contents of CSA prevention program, and overall positive beliefs about the expected outcomes of prevention programs. The findings suggest that it is feasible to implement CSA prevention programs on kindergartens. Applications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Al-Ateeqi, W., Shabani, I., & Abdulmalik, A. (2002). Child abuse in Kuwait: Problems in management. Medical Principles and Practice, 11, 131–135.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Fayez, G., Ohaeri, J., & Gado, O. (2012). Prevalence of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse among a nationwide sample of Arab high school students: associations with family characteristics, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and quality of life. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47, 53–66.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Alkhawwari, M. (2015, March 20). Ministry of Health: 2% of the Kuwaiti children were raped and 13% exposed to sexual harassment. Alqabas Newspaper, p. 14.

  • Baker, C., Gleason, K., Naai, R., Mitchell, J., & Trecker, C. (2012). Increasing knowledge of sexual abuse: A study with elementary school children in Hawai’i. Research on Social Work Practice, 23, 167–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berliner, L., & Elliott, D. (2002). Sexual abuse of children in the field of child maltreatment. The APSAC Handbook on Child Maltreatment (2nd ed., pp. 55–78). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, J., & Chen, D. (2005). Awareness of child sexual abuse prevention education among parents of Grade 3 elementary school pupils in Fuxin city, China. Health Education Research, 20(5), 540–547.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, J., Dunne, M., & Han, P. (2007). Prevention of child sexual abuse in China: Knowledge, attitudes, and communication practices of parents of elementary school children. Child Abuse and Neglect, 13, 747–755.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cupoli, J., & Sewell, P. (1988). One thousand fifty-nine children with a chief complaint of sexual abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect, 12, 151–162.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • El-Hait, S., Moosa, A., & Victorin, L. (1987). Non-accidental injury to children in Kuwait. The Journal of the Kuwait Medical Association, 21, 268–274.

    Google Scholar 

  • “Enough of me”: Saudi women uncover shocking figures on the sexual harassment of children (2016, January 22). Arabic RT. Retrieved from http://ar.rt.com/hbqy.

  • Finkelhor, D. (1994). The international epidemiology of sexual abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect, 18, 409–417.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Finkelhor, D., & Strapko, N. (1992). Sexual abuse prevention education: A review of evaluation studies. In Prevention of child maltreatment: Development and ecological perspectives (pp. 150–167). New York: Wiley.

  • Hunt, R., & Walsh, K. (2011). Parents’ views about child sexual abuse prevention education: a systematic review. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 36(2), 63–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jibril, M., & Al-Harasis, M. (2012). The effect of a prevention program in increasing the first grade female student awareness of sexual abuse and enable them to acquire the concepts of self-protection. Dirasat: Educational Sciences, 39(2), 411–427.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, D., Trundinger, P., & Crawford, M. (2004). Intelligence and achievement of children referred following sexual abuse. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 40, 455–460.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kenny, M., Wurtele, S., & Alonso, L. (2012). Evaluation of a personal safety program with Latino preschoolers. Journal of Childhood Sexual Abuse, 21(4), 368–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kini, N., & Lazoritz, S. (1998). Evaluation for possible physical or sexual abuse. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 45, 205–219.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lalor, R. (2004). Child sexual abuse in sub-Saharan Africa: A literature review. Child Abuse and Neglect, 28, 439–460.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacMillan, H., Fleming, J., Trocme, N., et al. (1997). Prevalence of child physical and sexual abuse in the community: results from the Ontario Health Supplement. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 278, 131–135.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • National Association of Social Workers. (2000). NASW code of ethics. Washington, DC: NASW.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohaeri, J., & Al-Fayez, G. (2013). Child sexual abuse data from an Arabian Gulf country revisited. International Psychiatry, 10(4), 84–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renk, K., Liljequist, L., Steinberg, A., Bosco, G., & Phares, V. (2002). Prevention of child sexual abuse: Are we doing enough? Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 3(1), 68–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW). (2012). Statement of Ethical Principles. Retrieved from http://ifsw.org/policies/statement-of-ethical-principles/.

  • Topping, K., & Barron, I. (2009). School-based child sexual abuse prevention programs: A review of effectiveness. Review of Educational Research, 79(1), 431–463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tutty, L. (1997). Child sexual abuse prevention programs: Evaluating who do you tell. Child Abuse and Neglect, 21(9), 869–950.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (2007). Child Maltreatment 2005. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved May 12, 2015 from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm05/cm05.pdf

  • WHO. (2014). Child maltreatment Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/actsheets/fs150/en/. World Health Organization: Geneva.

  • Wurtele, S., Kvaternick, M., & Franklin, C. (1992). Sexual abuse prevention for preschoolers: A survey of parents’ behaviors, attitudes and beliefs. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 1, 113–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wurtele, S., Kvaternick, M., Lopez, H., Franklin, C., & Durlap, C. (1991). Sexual abuse prevention for preschoolers: A Survey of parents’ behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs. In Paper presented at the 99th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, 16–20 August 1991.

  • Wurtele, S., & Owens, J. (1997). Teaching personal safety skills to young children: An investigation of age and gender across five studies. Child Abuse and Neglect, 21(8), 805–814.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This study was not funded by any grant.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology & Social Work, College of Social Sciences, Kuwait University, P.O.Box 5969, Safat, 13060, Kuwait

    Malak Al-Rasheed

Authors
  1. Malak Al-Rasheed
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Malak Al-Rasheed.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

Author Malak Al-Rasheed, declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

In the State of Kuwait, there is no official institutional review board (IRB). However, the researcher applied all the required ethical considerations in compliance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. A cover letter explaining the purpose of the questionnaire and the study, researcher’s contact information, and assurance of the participants’ voluntary participation and confidentiality of any given information was given to all participants before completion of the questionnaire.

Informed consent

A written Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Al-Rasheed, M. Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs for Kindergartners: A Survey of Public Actions, Attitudes, and Beliefs in Kuwait. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 34, 361–368 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-016-0466-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-016-0466-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation