Evaluation of a personal safety program with Latino preschoolers.
This study evaluated a personal safety educational program designed for Latino families attending preschools in a large metropolis. Seventy-eight children who participated in the Kids Learning About Safety program were compared to 45 control children. Compared with controls, participating children demonstrated enhanced ability to recognize inappropriate touches, learned correct genital terminology, were able to recognize the inappropriateness of touch requests made by "good" people, demonstrated higher levels of personal safety skills, and learned general safety rules. Gains in knowledge were maintained at three-month follow-up testing for all content areas except genital terminology. Although feedback provided by participating families was positive, recruiting participants and maintaining attendance at sessions was difficult. Discussion includes recommendations for future research and engagement of this population.
Department of Leadership & Professional Studies, College of Education, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA. kennym@fiu.edu
Maureen C
MC
Kenny
Sandy K
SK
Wurtele
Laura
L
Alonso
D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012449:Safety; D012574:Schools