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Many early childhood educators encounter children who exhibit sexual behavior and are not sure how to respond. Although they have had training in childhood development, sexual development is rarely given the attention it deserves. At the same time, early childhood education personnel often get training in child abuse and in their responsibilities as mandated reporters to report suspected abuse, including childhood sexual abuse (CSA), to the appropriate authorities. Thus, they may worry about any child who displays sexual behavior. Discriminating between typical and atypical sexual behaviors is critical to recognizing whether a child has been sexually abused (Wurtele & Kenny, 2011). Beyond recognizing behaviors, early childhood educators may feel ill-equipped to address children's sexual behaviors in the classroom. In this article, the authors explore typical sexual behaviors in young children and provide suggestions for early childhood educators' responses to all children in the classroom, including children with disabilities.

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. (Contains 1 table.)

Objectives: To explore the intergenerational cycle of violence, the present study examined the relationship between parental approval and children's approval of corporal punishment (CP) and the subsequent relationship between children's CP experience and preference for hitting to resolve interpersonal conflict. Method: Participants consisted of 102 families, parents, and children, ages 3-7 years old. Parents were assessed on their reported practices and beliefs about corporal punishment using 3 self-report measures. Fifty-four boys and 48 girls were interviewed by researchers to assess their approval of spanking and hitting. Results: Children whose parents approved of and used CP were more likely to endorse hitting as a strategy for resolving interpersonal conflicts with peers and siblings. Frequent spanking was the strongest predictor of children's acceptance of aggressive problem solving, above and beyond parental acceptance, parental experience of CP, and familial demographics. Conclusions: Findings supported an intergenerational cycle of violence; parents who experienced frequent corporal punishment during childhood perceived its use as acceptable and frequently spanked their children. These children, in turn, advocated that spanking be used as a disciplinary method and preferred aggressive conflict resolution strategies with peers and siblings. These findings support an additional "side effect of spanking;" when parents use CP it teaches their children that hitting is an acceptable means of dealing with conflict. Practice implications: Practitioners should encourage parents to avoid using CP as a disciplinary method which could lead to a change in the attitudes and behaviors of the next generation of parents. (Contains 5 tables.)

Objective: This study examined the ability of children to recognize "good" people as potential perpetrators prior to and after completing a personal safety program. There were three objectives to the study. The first was to determine whether young children could recognize the inappropriateness of a sexual request coming from people described as either "good" or "bad." Second, the study examined whether preschoolers could be educated to recognize inappropriate touch requests regardless of the good/bad descriptor. Finally, we explored if children's ability to learn the recognition skill depended upon their age. Methods: Ninety-three, primarily Hispanic (72%) preschool children (M age=3.9 years) completed the Body Safety Training program (BST; Wurtele, 2007), a classroom-based behavioral program. They responded to questions about "good" and "bad" people requesting to touch their private parts prior to and after the educational program. Results: At pre-testing, children had more difficulty recognizing inappropriate touch requests when made by "good" people compared to "bad" people. After completing the BST program, children improved in their ability to recognize the inappropriateness of requests made by both "good" and "bad" people. At pretesting, correct responding varied across age groups, with a greater percentage of older children (age 5) correctly responding to the "bad" cases compared to 3- and 4-year olds. At post-testing, a marginally significant age difference was found for cases involving "good" people and significant differences were found for cases involving "bad" people. Almost all 4- and 5-year-old children (94% and 96%, respectively) correctly responded to these inappropriate requests compared with only 71% of the 3 year olds. Conclusion: Pre-test results demonstrated that young children had difficulty recognizing the inappropriateness of a request when it was made by a "good" person. Post-test findings demonstrated that children as young as 3 years of age can learn the inappropriateness of such requests even when coming from "good" people, although 3 year olds had more difficulty recognizing inappropriate-touch requests compared to 4- and 5-year-old children. Practice implications: Results support the challenge of helping young children learn to recognize potential perpetrators, especially those described as "good" people. (Contains 1 table.)

Two hundred and fourteen (214) parents of young children (M age = 6.75 years) were surveyed about their plans for sexuality discussions with their children. Parents were asked to indicate when they would first discuss sex education with their children for 15 specific topics, how effective they perceived themselves to be at discussing each topic, and to describe their experiences receiving sex education from their own parents. Parents reported being educated mostly by their mothers and rated both of their parents as ineffective educators. Compared to a similar survey of parents conducted in 1982, parents in the current study intended to discuss sexual abuse at an earlier age but to delay discussing genital differences, birth, and reproduction. Compared to fathers, mothers intended to discuss sexuality at earlier ages and anticipated being more effective. Intended age of discussion differed between ethnic groups and between parents who described themselves as being religious versus not religious. Parents' intentions to discuss varied between sons and daughters for certain topics, and there were two topics that a considerable number of parents did not intend to discuss with their children (i.e., masturbation and nocturnal emissions). Suggestions for helping parents communicate more comfortably with their young children about sexuality topics are offered. (Contains 2 tables.)

This article describes an exercise used in a life span developmental psychology course to tap into undergraduates' perceptions of activities of the elderly. Students were asked to generate items to be included in a hypothetical Activities of Older Adults survey (to be administered to people 65 years and older). Responses from 1,340 students over a 10-year period show a fairly passive and negative view of life after age 65. Suggestions for utilizing this exercise to stimulate discussions about theories of aging and age stereotypes (including ageism) are offered. (Contains 1 table.)

Child sexual abuse is a widespread social problem that negatively affects victims, families, communities, and society. This article briefly describes the scope and consequences of child sexual abuse and briefly critiques child-focused personal safety educational programs designed to prevent sexual victimization. The final section offers suggestions for expanding the focus of child-directed efforts and also includes recommendations for alternative approaches to primary prevention. (Contains 2 notes.)

Preschoolers' knowledge of genital names facilitates disclosure of sexual abuse and provides the foundation for subsequent sex education. Surveys of preschoolers in the early 1990s found that few children knew proper names for the genitals. To determine knowledge among a current cohort of culturally diverse children, 128 preschool children were tested for their knowledge of the correct terms for their genitals. Almost all children knew the correct terms for their nongenital body parts, but few knew the correct terminology for their genitals. Significantly more English-speaking children correctly labeled their genitals compared to Spanish-speaking children. The importance of teaching preschool children the correct terminology for their genitals is discussed as well as the role of this concept in sexual abuse prevention programs. Suggestions are made for how program staff can work with Hispanic families to overcome cultural barriers to sexuality education. (Contains 1 table.)

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify the distinct developmental experiences associated with child sexual abuse and rape. Method: For 269 sexual offenders (137 rapists and 132 child sexual abusers), developmental experiences were recorded from a behavioral checklist, a parental-bonding survey, and a sexual history questionnaire. Offender classification was obtained from official records and verified through polygraph examinations. Results: Compared to rapists, child sexual abusers reported more frequent experiences of child sexual abuse (73%), early exposure to pornography (65% before age 10), an earlier onset of masturbation (60% before age 11), and sexual activities with animals (38%). In contrast to child sexual abusers, rapists reported more frequent experiences of physical abuse (68%), parental violence (78%), emotional abuse (70%), and cruelty to animals (68%). Both child sexual abusers and rapists (greater than 93%) reported frequent exposure to violent media during their childhood. Most offenders (94%) described having insecure parental attachment bonds; 76% of rapists reported avoidant parental attachments and 62% of child sexual abusers reported anxious parental attachments. Conclusions: Findings from this study support the role of specific developmental experiences as etiological factors in differential sexual offending. Child sexual abusers' developmental histories were characterized by heightened sexuality; whereas rapists' childhood histories were more indicative of violence. These findings have implications for the treatment of sexual abusers and the prevention of sexual abuse. Practice implications: This study's findings suggest that sexual offenders have been socialized to satisfy human needs of intimacy and sexuality through maladaptive means, which implies that a risk management approach may not be sufficient treatment. Although risk models teach offenders skills to avoid high-risk situations, they fail to address the maladaptive strategies that they may have developed for satisfying needs. Instead, the focus of treatment should be to equip offenders with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to achieve these needs in an acceptable manner. Thus, this model will provide these individuals with the opportunity to live a healthy life without sexual offending. (Contains 5 tables.)

Parents (N=45) of young children participated in either a child sexual abuse (CSA)-prevention workshop or a home-safety workshop. At follow-up interviews, parents who had participated in the CSA workshop reported having had significantly more discussions about CSA with their children than did control group parents. The coping appraisal components of protection motivation theory were also supported. (DB)

The reliability of the "What If" Situations Test was studied to determine its utility as an evaluation tool for young children (N=406), which would provide a measurement tool with demonstrated psychometric properties for evaluating child sexual abuse-prevention programs. Advantages and limitations of the measure are presented and validation issues are discussed. (Author/EMK)

Five studies involving 406 preschoolers (ages 41-68 months) investigated the effectiveness of instruction in personal safety. Results indicate that preschoolers who participated in the Behavioral Skills Training Program demonstrated greater knowledge and higher levels of personal safety skills compared with controls. No gender or age differences were found. (Author/CR)

To compare the effectiveness of parents and teachers as instructors of a personal safety program, 61 low-income preschoolers participated in either a home-based, school-based, or control program. No significant differences were found between groups taught by teachers or parents. Both groups demonstrated greater knowledge of sexual abuse and personal safety skills than did controls. (BRM)

This study examined the knowledgeability of child care workers (n=97) regarding their rights and responsibilities in reporting suspected child sexual abuse. Day care personnel knew significantly less about procedures for reporting suspected abuse and their protection under the law (when compared to child sexual abuse experts). (Author/DB)

Evaluation of a personal safety program with 172 preschoolers found that participants demonstrated greater knowledge about sexual abuse and higher levels of personal safety skills than controls, that children taught by their parents recognized inappropriate-touch requests better than children taught by teachers, and that children taught at both home and school did best. (Author/DB)

Research suggests that university students tend to hold negative attitudes about older adults. However, there is some evidence to suggest that these ageist attitudes can be challenged and changed through curricular intervention. The current study was designed to determine whether the "Activities of Older Adults" exercise as part of a lifespan human development course could create positive changes in college students' attitudes toward older adults. Results suggest that the activities exercise can reduce negative stereotypes, as measured by the Fraboni Scale of Ageism. As the number of people who turn 65 every day increases, there exists an urgent need for all members of society to possess an accurate knowledge about and positive attitude toward older adults.

A model of sexual deviance is presented which illustrates that lack of empathy mediates the associations between childhood victimization experiences and adult risk for sexual offending against women and children. For 188 incarcerated sexual offenders, admissions of victims and disclosures of childhood experiences of abuse and early exposure to pornography were recorded from criminal history, a sexual history questionnaire, and polygraph examinations. Empathy was assessed using victim- and abuse-specific measures. Structural equation modeling was used to test a model that included the direct effects of childhood victimization on number and type of victims, as well as the mediated effects through lack of empathy. Offenders who reported child sexual abuse as children and early exposure to pornography displayed less empathy for children in abusive situations and they reported more child victims. Offenders who reported physical abuse displayed less empathy for women in abusive situations and they reported more adult victims.

Objective: To determine if a commercially produced video, 'What Do I Say Now?' (Committee for Children, 1996) leads to an increase in parent-child discussion about child sexual abuse (CSA). Method: Forty-five parents of children 2-6 years of age were randomly assigned to participate in either a CSA prevention workshop or a workshop on home safety (control). The post-test measure assessed parents' beliefs about the severity of CSA and their children's vulnerability to abuse (threat appraisal), along with their self-efficacy and response-efficacy beliefs (coping appraisal). The effects of the coping- and threat-appraisal components of Roger's (1983) protection motivation theory (PMT) on parents' intentions to talk to their children about the topic were also examined. During a followup telephone interview, parents were asked to report the amount of communication they had engaged in with their children about CSA since attending the workshop. Results: Parents who had participated in the CSA workshop reported significantly greater intentions of talking to their children about CSA, compared to the control group. At followup, these parents also reported having had significantly more discussions about CSA with their children compared with control parents. The PMT coping-appraisal components were found to be associated with parent intentions to discuss the topic. Conclusions: Results provide preliminary support for the effectiveness of an educational video for increasing parent-child communication about CSA. Support was also found for the coping-appraisal components of PMT. Suggestions for increasing parent involvement in CSA prevention efforts are offered. Key Words - Child sexual abuse, Prevention, Parent-child communication, Protection motivation theory.

Objective: To determine the extent to which preschool-aged boys and girls can benefit from instruction in personal safety. Method: Data compiled from five previous studies were employed. Four hundred and six preschoolers were pretested and participated in either the Behavioral Skills Training program (BST; Wurtele, 1986) or a control program. Children were posttested on skill and knowledge gains. Results: Preschoolers who had participated in the BST program demonstrated greater knowledge and higher levels of personal safety skills compared with controls. Boys and girls reacted similarly to the program, as did children from younger and older age groups. Conclusions: These results provide support for the assertion that most preschool-aged children can benefit from participating in a developmentally appropriate personal safety program. Suggestions for expanding the efforts to prevent child sexual abuse are offered, so that children do not shoulder the full responsibility for prevention. Key Words - Child sexual abuse, Prevention, Personal safety.

Analysis of 22 incarcerated and incestuous child molesters, 21 extra familial child molesters, 33 incarcerated rapists, 27 incarcerated nonsex offenders and 26 common persons with no criminal history of child abuse or rape in a California community revealed that 48% of the extra familial child molesters, 19% of the incestuous child molesters, 3% of the rapists and 19% of the common persons were involved in sexual activity with a child. Child molesters, both extrafamilial and incestuous, are more afraid of negative appraisal than rapists. Extrafamilial molesters exhibit a higher degree of cognitive imbalance than another groups.

The purpose of this study was to compare teachers and parents as instructors of a personal safety program. One hundred seventy-two Head Start preschoolers were randomly assigned to a personal safety program taught by their teachers, parents, both teachers and parents, or to a general safety control program. Following program participation, children taught the personal safety program by their teachers, parents, or both, demonstrated greater knowledge about sexual abuse and higher levels of personal safety skills compared with those in the control group. Gains in knowledge and skills were maintained at the 5-month follow up. Children taught by their parents showed greater improvements in recognizing inappropriate-touch requests and in their personal safety skills compared with children taught by their teachers, and children who received the program both at home and school were better able to recognize appropriate-touch requests and to demonstrate higher levels of personal safety skills compared with children taught only at school. The emotional costs associated with participating in the program were minimal, and both parents and children rated the program positively. The advantages of home-based instruction for young children are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.

Child care workers in pre-school day care centers in Colorado are not too familiar with their reporting rights and responsibilities in cases of suspected child sexual abuse. While they are aware of their legal obligations on the issue, they know significantly less about the procedures for reporting suspected abuse and their protection under the law. Several suggestions to improve child care workers' knowledge about reporting suspected sexual abuse cases are prescribed.

Preschool-age children can be effectively educated by either a teacher or parent on personal safety. A study on instructor effectiveness tested 61 preschool children from low-income families in either a home-based, a school-based or a control personal safety program. No important distinctions were found between groups of children instructed by parents or teachers. Compared with children in the control group, the groups taught by parents or teachers showed higher cognizance of sexual abuse and higher personal safety skills development.

Describes development of the Fetal Health Locus of Control scale, the scale's utility in predicting maternal health-related behavior during pregnancy, normative data, and information on factor structure and internal consistency. Reports that cigarette and caffeine consumption during pregnancy, and women's intentions to participate in prepared childbirth classes were related to locus of control. (Author/NB)

Compared the effectiveness of various educational approaches for teaching personal safety skills to children in an effort to possibly prevent sexual abuse: (a) a filmed program ("Touch"), (b) a behavioral skills training program in which modeling, behavioral rehearsal, and social reinforcement were used to teach safety skills, (c) a combination of the two, and (d) a no-treatment control presentation. (Author/KS)

School-based sexual abuse prevention programs implemented in grades K-6 are summarized according to mode and content of presentation, audience and trainer characteristics, and program length. Means for conducting systematic evaluations of these programs are needed in order to enable educators to decide relative advantages and disadvantages of different programs. (Author/VW)

Parents of 26 children who participated in a school-based sexual abuse prevention program were surveyed regarding their children's reactions to the program. The children were asked to rate their fears of various people and situations both before and after participating in the program. Results are presented. (Author/MT)