Abstract
Programs to teach sexual abuse prevention skills to persons with mental retardation have rarely been evaluated empirically, and typical evaluations are limited to assessment of the participants' knowledge rather than their performance of specific skills. In the present study, 6 adult women with mental retardation were trained in sexual abuse prevention, and performance was assessed using four separate measures: pretests and posttests of knowledge, verbal report, role play, and naturalistic probes. All women learned the skills but failed to exhibit them to criterion during the probes. We discuss the implications for further training and assessment of sexual abuse prevention skills.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (126.3 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Chamberlain A., Rauh J., Passer A., McGrath M., Burket R. Issues in fertility control for mentally retarded female adolescents: I. Sexual activity, sexual abuse, and contraception. Pediatrics. 1984 Apr;73(4):445–450. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Conte J. R., Rosen C., Saperstein L., Shermack R. An evaluation of a program to prevent the sexual victimization of young children. Child Abuse Negl. 1985;9(3):319–328. doi: 10.1016/0145-2134(85)90027-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Fryer G. E., Jr, Kraizer S. K., Miyoshi T. Measuring actual reduction of risk to child abuse: a new approach. Child Abuse Negl. 1987;11(2):173–179. doi: 10.1016/0145-2134(87)90055-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Gast D. L., Collins B. C., Wolery M., Jones R. Teaching preschool children with disabilities to respond to the lures of strangers. Except Child. 1993 Feb;59(4):301–311. doi: 10.1177/001440299305900403. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Haseltine B., Miltenberger R. G. Teaching self-protection skills to persons with mental retardation. Am J Ment Retard. 1990 Sep;95(2):188–197. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hazzard A., Webb C., Kleemeier C., Angert L., Pohl J. Child sexual abuse prevention: evaluation and one-year follow-up. Child Abuse Negl. 1991;15(1-2):123–138. doi: 10.1016/0145-2134(91)90097-w. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lumley V. A., Miltenberger R. G. Sexual abuse prevention for persons with mental retardation. Am J Ment Retard. 1997 Mar;101(5):459–472. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Miltenberger R. G., Thiesse-Duffy E. Evaluation of home-based programs for teaching personal safety skills to children. J Appl Behav Anal. 1988 Spring;21(1):81–87. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1988.21-81. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Poche C., Yoder P., Miltenberger R. Teaching self-protection to children using television techniques. J Appl Behav Anal. 1988 Fall;21(3):253–261. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1988.21-253. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Swan H. L., Press A. N., Briggs S. L. Child sexual abuse prevention: does it work? Child Welfare. 1985 Jul-Aug;64(4):395–405. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wurtele S. K., Saslawsky D. A., Miller C. L., Marrs S. R., Britcher J. C. Teaching personal safety skills for potential prevention of sexual abuse: a comparison of treatments. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1986 Oct;54(5):688–692. doi: 10.1037//0022-006x.54.5.688. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]