Randomized controlled trial of the Child Protection Unit: Grade and gender as moderators of CSA prevention concepts in elementary students.

Background: Despite the importance of child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention, there are few recent randomized controlled trials of school-based CSA prevention programs.

Objectives: (1) To evaluate the effects of the Second Step Child Protection Unit (CPU) on students' CSA prevention concept knowledge, ability to recognize, report, and refuse unsafe touches, and perceptions of teacher-student relations and (2) investigate the moderating role of age and gender on program effectiveness.

Participants And Setting: Eight elementary schools in a large suburban school district in the northeast United States were randomly assigned to the intervention or control condition, with analyses conducted on a total of 2172 students.

Teacher Outcomes from the Second Step Child Protection Unit: Moderating Roles of Prior Preparedness, and Treatment Acceptability.

Teachers play a critical role in child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention and intervention efforts. We examined the impact of the Child Protection Unit (CPU) on improving teacher awareness, attitudes, and teacher-student relations for 161 teachers. Teacher baseline scores and treatment acceptability were examined as moderators.