Evaluation of a training to prevent sexual abuse for girls with intellectual disabilities

Prevalence of sexual abuse tends to be increased among youngsters with intellectual disabilities (ID), making prevention a pervasive challenge. Earlier prevention studies on this group suffer from methodical shortcomings, such as small sample sizes or invalid outcome measures. For the study presented here, a training program for girls with ID was developed and evaluated. A total of 103 girls aged 8 to 12 years (Mean 10.4, SD 1.64) with mild to borderline ID (Mean 61, SD 10.94) recruited at special schools were enrolled in the study and trained. Outcome measures contained verbal reports on anticipated behavior, pretended behavior in role-plays, and actual behavior in staged real-life situations. All assessments were videotaped and rated by 3 blind raters. Girls from the intervention group (n = 64) showed significant improvements in preventive knowledge compared to girls in the control group (n = 39) but showed nonsignificant improvements for preventive behavior. In situ tests with realistic seduction situations revealed no improvement. This study is the first application of a randomized controlled trial on the benefits of sex prevention using valid outcome measures on a large sample of girls with ID. Group interventions empowering girls with ID to recognize abuse situations are suitable to enhance sexual preventive knowledge but are less suitable to enhance preventive behavior. Naturalistic settings are indispensable for providing evidence for preventive interventions in children with ID.