The Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies 1999 : 1

This article discusses selected findings of a study that investigated how children conceptualised sexual abuse prevention concepts as taught by the Keeping Ourselves Safe Programme, a New Zealand preventative programme. Ninety-six primary school children, aged between 5 and 11, who had recently completed the Keeping Ourselves Safe programme, participated in the research. Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies were employed to conduct the investigation. Twelve students were selected to take part in a follow-up interview. To evaluate knowledge levels of key prevention concepts, a modified version of the Child Knowledge of Abuse Questionnaire (Revised Tutty, 1994) was used. A qualitative analysis of children's own stories and explanations provided insights into the way they constructed meaning from the concepts presented to them during participation in the programme. Results support previous findings, which showed that as children's age increases so does their knowledge of factors surrounding sexual abuse. The children's responses also indicated that they had difficulty identifying high risk situations and that common misconceptions were maintained after completing the programme. The authors also consider the ways in which developmental factors may impinge on learning of preventative concepts.