EBP Exchange - UMB School of Social Work

David Finkelhor writes a very thoughtful commentary about the evidence for Child Sexual Abuse Prevention programs in a new paper in Pediatrics(full cite at the bottom of this post).  What sets this review apart from the ongoing debate about whether it is worth it or appropriate to invest in child sexual abuse prevention programs is that Dr. Finkelhor discusses the complexity of defining whether these efforts “work”. Previous arguments have suggested that programs are “ineffective at preventing child sexual abuse” AND that programs are “inconsistent with the science of emotional, cognitive, neurobiological, and moral development of children”.  After reviewing the evidence and the science of child development, Finklehor draws the conclusion that the “weight of currently available evidence shows that it is worth providing children with high-quality prevention-education programs”.  There is lots more to gain from reading this thoughtful review about the complexity of measuring success about any prevention program.  Students and faculty can go through the HSHSL to find this paper.  The full citation is Finklehor, D. (2007). Prevention of sexual abuse through educational programs directed toward children. Pediatrics, 120, 640-645.