Project TRUST (Teaching, Reaching, Using Students and Theatre)

OVERVIEW

Project Trust is designed to prevent child maltreatment. The program was created to assess the effects of victimization prevention on elementary school students. Project Trust used "Touch," a 30 minute play consisting of vignettes on maltreatment prevention topics, to increases students' prevention knowledge and generate abuse disclosures without anxiety. After the play is performed, there is a 15-minute student question-response session. Project Trust students demonstrated greater knowledge of prevention information and difficult-to-acquire concepts.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: elementary school students.

Project Trust is designed to prevent child maltreatment.

The program contains three components.  The first is an optional preplay discussion led by teachers about the terms in the play.  The second component is a play performed by trained high school students. The third component consists of post-play discussion led by the high school student performers and the Project TRUST facilitators.

The play used in the program was "Touch", which was performed by high school students. The play is commercially licensed. This play is approximately 30 minutes in length and consists of vignettes on the continuum of touch from appropriate to inappropriate, the right to question or refuse exploitative touch, and the way to say no to uncomfortable situations. After the play is performed, there is a 15-minute student question-response session.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Evaluated population: The evaluated sample consisted of 1,269 children in grades 1-6 at four public elementary schools in a midwestern city. 

Approach: Classrooms were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group.  In total, 658 children were randomly assigned to an experimental group and 611 students were randomly assigned to a control group. Slightly more than half the sample was female and 86 percent were white.

Data were only collected from students after the intervention. The researchers collected data from children within the two days following the intervention. Control group students saw the play after the data were collected. Children were tested in a group setting and testing time was approximately 50 minutes. To assess retention of knowledge, data on knowledge of maltreatment prevention was collected again 3 months after the intervention.

The researchers used the Children's Knowledge of Abuse Questionnaire-Revised (CKAQ) to assess children's knowledge of maltreatment.  The researchers also measured children's anxiety using the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children.  Finally, the researchers obtained disclosures of maltreatment using the Maltreatment Disclosure Report Form.

Results: Results of the study indicated that children in the experimental group had significantly greater knowledge of maltreatment prevention than children in the control group.  The average score on the CKAQ for experimental subjects was 26.69 while the average score for control subjects was 24.08. Children in the experimental group also had more knowledge of 10 difficult-to-understand concepts in child abuse prevention. Experimental children scored, on average, one point higher on these items.  The researchers also found that experimental participants scored higher on knowledge of maltreatment prevention three months after the play.  On average, experimental children scored 2.20 points higher. However, with regard to gender, the researchers did not find an effect of the program. A 3-month reassessment showed the no loss in acquired prevention information for the experimental subgroup

Researchers note that a single point of data collection creates a limitation in that there was no way to be sure groups were equivalent before the intervention.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

References

Oldfield, D., Hays, B.J., & Megel, E. (1996). Evaluation of the effectiveness of Project TRUST: An elementary-school based victimization prevention strategy. Child Abuse and Neglect, 20(9), 821-832.

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: students in grades 1 through 6/ Program age ranges in the Guide:  6-11

Program components: school-based

Measured outcomes: social and emotional health and development

KEYWORDS: Children, Middle Childhood (6-11), Elementary School, School-based, Social/Emotional Health, Urban, White or Caucasian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, Education, Campaign, Community, Mental Health, Anxiety, Child Maltreatment.

Program information last updated 08/10/04.

© Child Trends 2004