An Evaluation of the "I am Learning to Protect Myself with Mika" Program Using the "What If" Situations Test.

Despite the recent development of a plethora of child sexual abuse prevention programs in recent years, few studies have attempted to evaluate their effectiveness using a standardized measure. Therefore, we attempted to test the effectiveness of the "I am learning to protect myself with Mika" program using a valid and reliable tool: the "What If" Situations Test (WIST). Eighty-one preschool children and their parents and teachers participated in this study. Ultimately, we compared the data of 43 children (M =  66.78, SD =  8.84) in the intervention group and 38 children (M =  69.28, SD =  6.78) in the wait-list group. The findings revealed that the intervention group had increased knowledge of inappropriate touching recognition and personal safety. The say, tell, report, and WIST total skill scores also increased in the intervention group. These findings are promising and may pave the way for disseminating the program in Turkish preschools.

"I am Learning to Protect Myself with Mika:" A Teacher-based Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program in Turkey.

This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of a teacher-based child sexual abuse prevention program entitled "I am learning to protect myself with Mika." The sample consisted of 290 children, their parents, and their classroom teachers. The participants were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 137) or wait-list comparison groups (n = 153) by classroom. The age of the children ranged from 46 to 71 months (M = 58.99, SD = 6.64). The prevention program was a 5-week program that consisted of five modules, including emotional awareness, good touch-bad touch, and body safety rules. To investigate the effectiveness of the prevention program, a latent Markov analysis was conducted. A three-class solution was identified as the best model: Status-1 (self-protecting group), Status-2 (risky secret keepers), and Status-3 (risk group). Following the intervention, members of the two at-risk groups (Statuses 2 and 3) were more likely to move into the Status-1 group than were those participants who had not received the intervention (wait-list comparison). Self-protection skills were analyzed using a 2 × 2 ANOVA with repeated measures. The increase in self-protection skills was greater for participants in the intervention group than for those in the wait-list comparison group from pre-test to post-test. Two-month follow-up analysis showed that gain in knowledge and skills was maintained. This program should be considered as a potential approach to meeting the need for child sexual abuse preventive efforts in Turkish preschool curriculum.

Prevalence of violence by teachers and its association to students' emotional and behavioral problems and school performance: Findings from secondary school students and teachers in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Teacher violence toward students is a common public health risk associated with various negative outcomes. Though previous studies examined the prevalence of teacher violence toward students and its association with negative outcomes, little is known about the association between teacher violence and school performance, and the mediating role of students' emotional and behavioral problems, particularly in developing countries. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to investigate the prevalence of teacher violence toward students, its association with school performance, and the mediating role of emotional and behavioral problems. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Data were collected from 293 students (M = 12.59, SD = 1.07) and 205 teachers (M = 37.20, SD = 8.41) using a structured sampling approach. METHODS: Our cross-sectional study used a multi-informant approach: both teachers and students reported on violence by teachers. Students reported also on other types of violence, emotional and behavioral problems, and school performance. RESULTS: Of all students, 55 % reported that they were exposed to teacher violence at least once in the past month, while 83 % of teachers reported having used any type of violence against students. Path analysis indicated direct associations between teacher violence toward students and students' behavioral and emotional problems (ß = 0.21) and school performance (ß = -0.15), and an indirect association between teacher violence and school performance (ß = -0.05) via emotional and behavioral problems. CONCLUSIONS: Teacher violence toward students was highly prevalent and associated with emotional and behavioral problems and lower school performance. Prevention programs and social policies aiming to reduce violence by teachers are urgently needed.