The authors evaluated a coeducational program for teenagers on preventing sexual coercion in dating situations. Students examined individual and social attitudes underlying coercive sexual behavior and learned communication skills aimed at preventing or dealing with unwanted sexual advances. Instruction was enhanced by video and an interactive video "virtual date." Outcomes were assessed using sexual attitude scales with a sample of 458 high school students. Student health education classes were randomly assigned to either a treatment or a control condition. Findings, based on a latent variable model of differential effectiveness, showed that students in the treatment group with initial coercive attitude scores at or above the mean benefited significantly more than students with the same range of scores in the control group.
Traditionally, prospective resource parents must attend all preservice training in person. While live sessions are necessary for activities such as screening applicants, instructional portions of training could be enhanced by web-based sessions. This pilot study compares the effectiveness of online and classroom versions of one session from a widely used preservice training program. Ninety-two individuals who volunteered to complete the program in two states were randomly assigned to a treatment group that viewed an online version of the class on child abuse and neglect or a comparison group that took the same class in person. Written questionnaires were completed before and after the class. Significant group differences on knowledge of child maltreatment and empathy toward birth parents, plus high user satisfaction, were hypothesized. ANCOVA results showed the online training was more effective than the live training at increasing knowledge. MANCOVA findings on empathy were not significant but trended toward greater empathy for the online group. Feedback indicated high satisfaction with the online course. If supported by future research, the finding that online instruction is more effective than live has positive implications for practice, because web-based training offers advantages like standardizing instruction, cutting agency and trainee costs, and providing greater flexibility.
The current study examined the effectiveness of an online training program on parenting children's noncompliant behavior. Eighty-two resource parents (foster, adoptive, and kinship) were recruited through Foster Parent College-an online training website-and randomly assigned to a treatment or wait-list control group. Parents in the treatment group participated in an online interactive workshop on noncompliant child behavior. Online assessments occurred before and after a 1-week intervention, and again 3 months later. Group differences at posttest were significant for parents' reports of children's positive behavior and parent knowledge related to children's noncompliant behavior. Only parents in the treatment group showed significant improvement from pre-to posttest on several other outcome measures of parenting noncompliant behavior. Satisfaction with the online workshop at posttest was very high. Results at the 3-month follow-up assessment showed significant group differences only for parents' knowledge about children's noncompliant behavior. Feedback on the workshop remained positive, with treatment group parents indicating that they felt the workshop had beneficially impacted their parenting and their children's behavior.
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