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    An exploratory study of how developmental issues may impinge on the implementation of the 'Keeping ourselves safe' programme : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1995) Gabriels, Toos Catharina Maria
    Child sexual abuse has increasingly been recognised as a multi-faceted social problem. So far efforts to deal with this problem have mainly focussed on helping children recognise sexual abuse and teaching them skills to avert or stop sexual misbehaviour. Child sexual abuse prevention programmes are most frequently presented through schools because this approach provides easy access to children over an extended period of time. The Keeping Ourselves Safe Programme (KOS) is a prevention programme that has been specifically designed for use with New Zealand children. Empirical studies have shown that the degree to which children are able to benefit from participation in prevention programmes such as KOS, is influenced by the manner in which prevention concepts are presented and by children's cognitive and affective levels of development. So far it is not clear how children of different ages integrate prevention concepts. The aim of the present study was to explore children's perceptions and interpretations of the safety concepts presented to them through the KOS programme by combining both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Ninety-six children completed the Child Knowledge of Abuse Questionnaire - Revised II (CKAQ-RII). In addition twelve of them were recruited to take part in an in depth follow-up interview. Results support previous findings indicating that children's knowledge of factors surrounding sexual abuse increase with age. Furthermore, children have more difficulty incorporating an understanding of concepts surrounding sexual abuse than developing preventive skills. Formulations that posed problems included the ability to recognise inappropriate behaviour in adults, the concept of 'strangers' and the notion that a person known to the child might try to abuse them. The majority of students were able to use preventive strategies such as 'saying no' and 'telling a person you trust' appropriately in 'what if' problem solving exercises. Results suggest that it is important to use a clearly defined concrete approach involving role-plays and other behavioural techniques with six and seven year old children, without simultaneously introducing abstract concepts. Older children were able to deal with more abstract material. Limitations of the present study and suggestions for future research are discussed.
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    Re-thinking drowning risk : the role of water safety knowledge, attitudes and behaviours in the aquatic recreation of New Zealand youth : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2006) Moran, Kevin
    This study evolved from concerns about the number of young people drowning in New Zealand (544 deaths between 1980-1994), the author’s long experience with surf life saving and the suspicion that participation statistics on aquatic recreation do not adequately explain why so many young people drown. It was postulated that the risk of drowning associated with aquatic recreation also was the consequence of many underlying water safety influences that operate at intrapersonal, interpersonal and community levels. Thus the purpose of the study was to obtain comprehensive data on what young people know, think and do about their safety during aquatic recreation. A 25-item questionnaire was designed to survey a randomised sample of New Zealand youth (2202, year 11, 15 – 19 year olds) to assess their participation in, knowledge about and behaviour during aquatic recreation. To develop the questionnaire, a conceptual framework was devised that constructed the risk of drowning as a complex phenomenon dependent on how often young people participate in various forms of water-based activities, but largely influenced by their water safety knowledge, attitudes and behaviour, all of which are shaped by social, cultural and demographic variables. Almost all New Zealand youth had taken part in some swimming (98%) or other aquatic activity (94%) in the previous year. Risk of drowning was exacerbated among many students because they had poor water safety skills and knowledge, held unsound water safety attitudes, and often practiced at-risk behaviours. For example, many students estimated that they could not swim more than 100 m (54%), thought that swimming was acceptable at a surf beach after patrol hours (61%), and had swum outside patrol flags (61%) or never worn lifejacket (19%) during aquatic recreation. Taken separately, any one of these dispositions is capable of heightening drowning risk; taken collectively they offer strong explanation as to why youth are at greater risk of drowning than others. When analysed by gender, the lack of water safety knowledge, the prevalence of unsafe attitudes and at-risk behaviours among males was consistent and pronounced. The effect of socio-economic status and ethnicity on these risk-enhancing dispositions was less pronounced, although the data did suggest that the knowledge base of youth from low-decile schools and of Pasifika and Asian ethnicity provided least protective potential in the event of unintentional submersion.