Help Wanted: Evaluating a Prevention Intervention for People With Sexual Interest in Children

Summary

This project aims to evaluate the Help Wanted Prevention Intervention, an online program to provide people with a sexual attraction to children the skills and resources to support their commitment to keep children safe and to improve the participants well-being. In phase one, ten men with a sexual attraction to children who have never had a contact offense with a child will be asked to go through an abbreviated version of the participant procedures that will be used in study phase two (described next). Specifically, the ten participants will complete one of the online surveys, review the Help Wanted program, and participate in a 30-60 minute anonymous audio call with a member of the study team to provide feedback on the study procedures and materials (e.g., consent form, recruitment form). Feedback from phase one will inform changes to study procedures for phase two. Phase two consists of a large-scale evaluation of the Help Wanted program. Three hundred men with a sexual attraction to children who have never had a contact offense with a child or accessed the Help Wanted Program will be randomly selected to be part of one of two groups: the program group (N = 200) or the control group (N = 100). Both groups will be asked to complete an online survey before reviewing the Help Wanted Program, provide feedback on the program over a one-month period, and complete another online survey immediately after reviewing the program and three months after reviewing the program. Participants in the control group will have a one month waiting period after the first online survey, during which the participants will receive alternative resources and supports for mental health and sexual attraction to children. After the one month waiting period, participants in the control group will complete one additional online survey before reviewing the Help Wanted program and completing the two final online surveys (one immediately after reviewing the program, one three months after reviewing the program). Survey questions will ask about participants thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, including questions about the participants overall well-being and sexual attraction to children. All study materials and resources are in English. Resources provided to participants are also in English, but provide services in over 30 countries to include participants who may reside in countries outside of the United States. Participation is anonymous and all data will be kept confidential.

Conditions

• Program Evaluation
• Child Sexual Abuse
• Perpetration of Child Sexual Abuse
• Prevention Intervention

Interventions

OTHER

Help Wanted Prevention Intervention

The intervention includes an introductory welcome place, five training sessions that deliver core intervention content, and a resources page that provides links to external sources of support. The Help Wanted Prevention Intervention is a free, online, self-help course to address the needs of people with a sexual attraction to children. Help Wanted aims to provide knowledge, skills, and resources to support help-seekers' commitments to living safe, healthy, and fulfilling lives.

OTHER

Waitlist Control

Participants will be provided with information on how to access alternative resources and help lines to support mental health, suicide prevention, and child sexual abuse prevention. After one month, they will be granted access to Help Wanted.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Barry University

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Massachusetts, Lowell

  collaborator OTHER

• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Elizabeth J Letourneau, PhD · Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-10-24

Primary Completion

2025-12-31

Completion

2025-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations