Literature Review on Trends and Components of Child Abuse Prevention Education Programs for Parents

Abstract

The current Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act emphasizes the necessity of parental intervention by stating that "schools and child welfare facilities must make efforts to educate and raise awareness among children and parents for the prevention of child abuse." However, in Japan, comprehensive preventive education for parents is not commonly implemented. As a results, both Japanese parents and the younger generation, who will eventually become parents, may have limited knowledge of child abuse and child-rearing. This study aimed to clarify the structure of child abuse prevention education programs for parents by comparing programs in Japan and other countries. A literature search was conducted using Google Scholar to identify articles related to child abuse prevention education for parents. The search keywords used were "prevention education," "child abuse," and "program." A total of 15 relevant studies were identified, none of which were from Japan. The programs targeting parents were primarily structured from two perspectives: (1) preventing parents from becoming perpetrators, and (2) empowering them to protect children from abuse. Many of these programs demonstrated evidence of effectiveness.