Parental involvement in child abuse prevention training: what do they learn?

This study examined the impact of parent education meetings on preschool parents' knowledge of child abuse. One hundred sixteen parents participated in the study. Parents were selected from seven preschool sites across California. Parent education appeared to have little effect upon (1) parents' knowledge of the prevalence of child sexual abuse, (2) indicators of abuse, or (3) parents' appropriate response to disclosures. Results from the parent data show the negligible effect of parent education as it is presently delivered. Few parents attend the meetings, and those who do learn very little.