Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse : A Protection Motivation Theory-Based Intervention for Mothers of Preadolescents

Title

Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse : A Protection Motivation Theory-Based Intervention for Mothers of Preadolescents

Creator

K C, Bhagyalakshmi

Contributor

Kumar, Aneesh.

Description

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a growing concern in the world. Prevention of CSA in India is challenging due to deep rooted traditional values and beliefs. Sex and related matters newlineare difficult topics for parents to discuss. Lack of parental awareness leads to increased newlinerisk for CSA. Maternal care is the most influential aspect of child rearing and they need information and skills to educate children on sexual abuse. The literature review was based on Bloom s taxonomy for academic writing. The need for systematic and evidencebased approach in primary prevention was identified. The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of Protection Motivation Theory (PMT)-based psycho education program in enhancing mothers knowledge, attitude and sense of parental competence among mothers. An interactive mixed-method design embedding quantitative and qualitative methods selected 72 mothers as participants from Kannur, Kerala. Mothers aged between 30-40 years who had preadolescent children (8-12 years) were assigned to control and experimental group. A facilitator s psycho education manual was developed embedding PMT constructs for the intervention. The quantitative results indicated significant differences between the groups for CSA knowledge and attitude. The impact of the intervention was moderate to high. The qualitative results indicated the benefits of intervention. Mothers have overcome communication blocks, misconceptions regarding CSA education are cleared, are aware of risks and warning signs and are confident to deal with CSA disclosure. The involvement of mothers in the prevention program was found to be effective in this study. The findings of this study have important implications for developing theory- based interventions for CSA prevention. The application of systematic evidence-based interventions promotes active engagement of participants for applying the learnt skills effectively. The culturally sensitive issues like CSA needs more contextual understanding of the problems to find effective solutions.

Source

Author's Submission

Date

2023-01-01

Publisher

Christ(Deemed to be University)

Subject

Psychology

Rights

Open Access

Relation

61000238

Format

PDF

Language

English

Type

PhD

Identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10603/501732