"I Am Learning to Protect Myself with Mika": An Evaluation of Self-Protection Behaviors of Turkish Preschoolers.
Child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention programs contribute to increases in children's knowledge and skills to protect themselves from CSA. However, there is a paucity of research investigating self-protection behaviors among children to demonstrate whether relevant CSA knowledge and skills are transfer...
| Published in: | Journal of Child & Family Studies Vol. 34; no. 8; pp. 2160 - 2171 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article |
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Springer Nature
Aug2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=187624435&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 187624435 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 10621024 JFM jtl: Journal of Child & Family Studies issn: 10621024 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Aug2025 vid: 34 iid: 8 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature artinfo: ui: 187624435 10.1007/s10826-025-03109-9 ppf: 2160 ppct: 11 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 704KB tig: atl: "I Am Learning to Protect Myself with Mika": An Evaluation of Self-Protection Behaviors of Turkish Preschoolers. aug: au: Yılmaz Irmak, Türkan Kızıltepe, Rukiye Eslek, Duygu Kütük, Bahtım Güney, Onuray affil: https://ror.org/02eaafc18 Department of Psychology, Ege University, İzmir, Turkey https://ror.org/01etz1309 Department of Psychology, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey https://ror.org/04c152q53 Department of Psychology, İzmir Demokrasi University, İzmir, Turkey https://ror.org/00r9t7n55 Department of Psychology, Gümüşhane University, Gümüşhane, Turkey su: Türkiye Prevention of child sexual abuse School environment Evaluation of human services programs Role playing Teachers Health behavior Child behavior Children Statistical sampling Descriptive statistics Chi-squared test Self-defense sug: subj: Prevention of child sexual abuse School environment Evaluation of human services programs Role playing Teachers Health behavior Child behavior Children Türkiye Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling Statistical sampling Descriptive statistics Chi-squared test Self-defense keyword: Child sexual abuse Preschool children Prevention program Psychology and Cognitive Sciences Psychology Medical and Health Sciences Public Health and Health Services Self-protection behaviors Child sexual abuse Preschool children Prevention program Psychology and Cognitive Sciences Psychology Medical and Health Sciences Public Health and Health Services Self-protection behaviors ab: Child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention programs contribute to increases in children's knowledge and skills to protect themselves from CSA. However, there is a paucity of research investigating self-protection behaviors among children to demonstrate whether relevant CSA knowledge and skills are transferable in risky situations. We aimed to examine the effectiveness of the "I am learning to protect myself with Mika" program on preschool children's self-protection behaviors. The sample included 51 preschool children (54.9% girls) from Izmir, Turkey and their parents. The mean age of the children was 65.57 months (SD = 7.21). The present study employed a posttest-only control group design, and the classrooms were randomly assigned to the intervention and wait-list comparison groups. The participating teachers implemented the program over a five-week period. Then, children's self-protection behavior was assessed with children from both groups using a role-play scenario involving a request from a stranger. Accordingly, we tested whether children in the intervention group were more likely to demonstrate self-protection behaviors compared to those in the comparison group. The findings showed that the intervention group (77.3%) rejected the offer from strangers and behaved more safely than did the wait-list comparison group (24.2%; χ(1) = 13.879, p < 0.001). "I am learning to protect myself with Mika" was found to be effective in contributing to preschoolers' self-protective behaviors. The promising results obtained in this study may encourage further exploration of the behavioral outcomes of sexual abuse prevention programs. Highlights: Child sexual abuse prevention programs increase children's knowledge and skills. A limited number of studies have examined the impact of these programs on self-protection behavior. In this study, self-protection behaviors were evaluated using a role-playing scenario involving a request by a stranger. The rate of rejection to this offer in the participating children was greater than that in the comparison group. Children participating in the program showed better self-protection behavior than did those in the comparison group. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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