(PS3-96) Youth Satisfaction and Acceptability of a Group Intervention for Families Impacted by Child Sexual Abuse

Abstract Text: Interventions targeting youth and their non-offending caregivers following child sexual abuse (CSA) address youth mental health concerns, bolster family well-being, and strengthen caregivers’ abilities to support their children. Group interventions are cost effective and serve a variety of symptom presentations, reduce isolation and stigma, and provide social support. However, research on youth perspectives of such interventions is limited, despite research highlighting that incorporating client feedback leads to better outcomes. Thus, understanding youth perceptions of community-based interventions following CSA can promote well-being, empower survivors, and strengthen communities.
Project SAFE (Sexual Abuse Family Education) is a 12-session, cognitive-behavioral group intervention for youth who have experienced CSA and their non-offending caregivers. Project SAFE was developed in collaboration with the local Child Advocacy Center, which primarily serves rural counties in a midwestern state. Project SAFE reduces barriers for families (e.g., delivered in the evening) and utilizes person-centered, inclusive language (e.g., sexual orientation/gender identity). Services have been adapted and revised with emerging research, client feedback, and community needs to be most responsive to participants. Research has found that Project SAFE is empirically supported, and families rate the program favorably.
The current study evaluates Project SAFE treatment acceptability and satisfaction among youth. Youth complete a 13-item post-treatment evaluation assessing social validity and satisfaction, including questions about therapists, procedures, topics, goals, and overall satisfaction. The sample includes 169 youth ages 7 to 18 years old who completed the post-treatment evaluation between 1999 and 2019; 91 participated in the child group (80.2% female; Mage = 9.74, SD = 1.69), and 78 participated in the adolescent group (92.3% female; Mage = 14.61, SD = 1.4). Most youth identified as White (82.1%), followed by bi-/ multi-racial (8.9%), African American/ Black (4.9%), Latinx/ Hispanic (2.4%), and Native American (1.2%).
Univariate and bivariate findings demonstrate strong social validity among youth following Project SAFE. For example, the majority of youth (70.2%) felt better off at the end of treatment than before starting, particularly children (77.8%) compared to adolescents (61.5%; F = 16.047, p = .013). Youth also endorsed enjoying attending group most of the time (81.5%), especially children (86.7%) compared to adolescents (75.6%; F = 14.869, p =.028). Interestingly, children and adolescents’ enjoyment of some specific intervention components (e.g., topics, activities) differed significantly. Additional child and adolescent ratings will be presented and discussed.
These findings suggest that community-based, family-focused services that consider developmental differences are valuable for youth following CSA. Implications include highlighting highly rated components of CSA interventions and underscoring the value of leveraging multiple methods and perspectives to inform intervention development, adaptation, and dissemination to translate applied research into practice and policy.