Evaluation effectiveness of the my body is my special training program developed by the creative drama method for pre-school children to prevent sexual abuse

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the My Body is My Special Training Program which was developed with the creative drama method, to gain information about body recognition and body safety preventing sexual abuse in 5-6 age group children. Method: It is a experimental study conducted with a control group in the pretest-post-test design. The data collection stage of the study which was carried out between August 2018-March 2020, was realized in two independent kindergartens in Antalya. The study was completed with a total of 87 children in the 5-6 age group, as one of the two independent kindergartens determined by simple randomization method, one is the intervention (kindergarten-1, n = 44) and the other is the control (kindergarten-2, n = 43). My Body Is My Privacy Training Program, developed by researchers via creative drama method, was applied to children in the intervention group as eight sessions in 3 weeks. The data collected via "Child and Family Introductory Form" and "Knowing the Body and Body Safety Information Form", were analyzed with the Pearson's Chi-Square Test, Fisher's Exact Test and T-test. P <0.05 was considered significant. In the study was received from Ethics Committee approval and an institutional permission. In the study, informed consent was received from parents who agreed to their children's participation and oral consent from children. Results: It was determined that 55.2% of the children (N = 87) participating in the study were girls and five years old. Correct anatomic names of private areas were guessed at lower rates in the intervention group in the pretest (vagina/vulva 13.6%, penis 2.3%) and higher rates in the posttest (vagina 77.3%, penis 68.2%) and this difference was found statistically significant. In the control group, the pre-test (vagina / vulva 7.7%, penis 0%) and post-test (vagina / vulva 11.5%, penis 0%) were known at low rates. Majority of children in the intervention and control group gave correct answers to good/bad touching cases in both the pretest and posttest. It was determined that there was a statistically significant increase in the knowledge of "telling, doing and expressing skill" of children in the intervention group to protect their body, in the posttest (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was proved that "My Body Is My Privacy Training Program" developed with the creative drama method, was effective on earning knowledge aimed at recognizing the body and their body safety preventing sexual abuse in 5-6 age group children. Key words: sexual abuse prevention training program, preschool education, preschool child, creative drama, nurse