Effect of Group Counseling on Parents’ Self-Efficacy, Knowledge, Attitude, and Communication Practice in Preventing Sexual Abuse of Children Aged 2-6 Years: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Background: The present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of group counseling on parents’ self-efficacy, knowledge, attitude, and communication practice in preventing sexual abuse of children aged 2-6 years. Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial was carried out on 62 parents in Karaj (Iran) during the period of March-November 2016. Three kindergartens were randomly selected using the cluster sampling technique. Block randomization was used to assign the participants into two groups (N=31 in each group), namely the intervention group and the control group. Data collection included demographic characteristics, a “Parental Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice” questionnaire on the prevention of child sexual abuse, and the Farrell and Walsh self-efficacy pretest-posttest. The participants in the intervention group attended a counseling program of a 90-minute session per week, for 3 consecutive weeks. The participants were evaluated before, immediately after, and one month after the intervention. All statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS software (version 19.0). Data were analyzed using the Chi-square, independent t-test, Mann-Whitney, and Friedman tests. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups in terms of the mean knowledge (P=0.50), attitude (P=0.48), practice (P=0.93), and self-efficacy (P=0.43) before the intervention. However, a significant difference was observed between the groups immediately after (P<0.001) and one month after (P<0.001) the intervention. Conclusion: Counseling is an effective tool in increasing the self-efficacy of parents on child sexual abuse. The awareness of child sexual abuse and its prevention should be raised in the society through effective training programs.