Abstract
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of an educational video on sexual violence in the knowledge of school-aged adolescents.
Methods A quasi-experimental, non-randomized, single-group study was conducted from February to June 2024, using an educational video for 82 adolescents from a public school. The same questionnaire was used before and after the intervention. For data analysis, the generalized version of McNemar’s chi-square test was applied.
Results There was an increase in the percentage of knowledge among adolescents after the educational intervention, with statistical significance in the variables “presentation of sexual violence”, “I would take you home,” and “reporting sexual violence and dangerous situations”.
Conclusion The implementation of educational videos increased adolescents’ knowledge and encouraged youth leadership by promoting reflection and critical thinking about sexual violence.
Keywords:
Adolescent; Educational technology; Sexual ofenses; Health promotion
Resumo
Objetivo Avaliar a efetividade de um vídeo educacional sobre violência sexual no conhecimento de adolescentes escolares.
Métodos Estudo quase-experimental, não randomizado, de único grupo, realizado de fevereiro a junho/2024, com aplicação de um vídeo educacional para 82 adolescentes de uma escola pública. Utilizou-se o mesmo questionário antes e após a intervenção. Para análise dos dados, aplicou-se a versão generalizada do teste qui-quadrado de McNemar.
Resultados Houve aumento no percentual de conhecimento dos adolescentes após a intervenção educacional, com significância estatística nas variáveis “apresentação da violência sexual”, “eu levaria você para casa” e “denunciar violência sexual e situações perigosas”.
Conclusão A implementação do vídeo educacional proporcionou aumento no conhecimento dos adolescentes, além do incentivo ao protagonismo juvenil, por potencializar reflexões e criticidade sobre a violência sexual.
Descritores:
Adolescente; Tecnologia educacional; Delitos sexuais; Promoção da saúde
Resumen
Objetivo Evaluar la eficacia de un video educativo sobre violencia sexual en los conocimientos de adolescentes escolarizados.
Métodos Estudio cuasiexperimental, no aleatorio, de un solo grupo, realizado entre febrero y junio de 2024, con la aplicación de un video educativo a 82 adolescentes de una escuela pública. Se utilizó el mismo cuestionario antes y después de la intervención. Para el análisis de los datos, se aplicó la versión generalizada de la prueba ji cuadrado de McNemar.
Resultados Se observó un aumento en el porcentaje de los conocimientos de los adolescentes después de la intervención educativa, con significación estadística en las variables “presentación de la violencia sexual”, “yo te llevaría a casa” y “denunciar la violencia sexual y las situaciones peligrosas”.
Conclusión La implementación del video educativo proporcionó un aumento en los conocimientos de los adolescentes, además de fomentar el protagonismo juvenil, al potenciar la reflexión y el espíritu crítico sobre la violencia sexual.
Descriptores:
Adolescente; Tecnología educacional; Delitos sexuales; Promoción de la salud
Introduction
The Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA), which sets forth the duties necessary to ensure the comprehensive protection of children and adolescents, considers adolescence to be the period between 12 and 18 years of age, a phase in which biological and psychosocial development and transformations occur.(1)
Among the changes in the biological context of adolescents, puberty stands out, which is the stage of maturation of the sexual organs and the onset of sexual activity.(2) Such changes can lead adolescents to engage in risky behaviors due to emotionally unstable situations, with greater exposure to situations of violence.(3)
Violence is defined as a complex, multifactorial event involving the intentional use of force or power against a person or group.(4) Among the various types of violence most evident in the daily lives of adolescents, sexual violence stands out, with repercussions on the physical and mental health of these young people.(5,6) Sexual violence in adolescence can take many forms, whether sexual abuse or sexual exploitation, with the perpetrator being a blood relative or a stranger.(5)
In Brazil, between 2015 and 2021, 202,948 cases of sexual violence were reported, of which 119,377 (58.8%) involved adolescents. Of the reports of sexual violence against adolescents, 110,657 (92.7%) involved girls as victims. This finding may be due to underreporting in relation to males. In relation to the perpetrators, 80.9% of girls and 86.0% of boys were abused by men. In relation to the victim’s relationship with the perpetrator, it was found that the perpetrator was a friend or acquaintance in 25.6% of cases involving girls and 38.4% of cases involving boys.(7)
The profile of adolescents most vulnerable to sexual violence highlights alcohol and/or drug use, female gender, casual sex, low education and income levels, adolescents who witness and/or are victims of domestic violence, relationships in virtual environments, and the stigmatization of sex work. These elements reveal that adolescents are potential victims of sexual violence, and there is therefore a need for information to increase this population group’s knowledge about ways to prevent and combat it, as well as to draw attention to the consequences that this abuse can have throughout their lives.(5)
Knowledge is the ability that individuals have to acquire, retain, and recall information, and is associated with understanding, discernment, experience, and skill in a given event.(8) This concept can be an essential marker of the population’s level of awareness, since determining knowledge makes it possible to obtain characteristics that can prevent the emergence of or combat a disease.(9)
In this sense, health education, a strategy that promotes adolescent health, contributes to the construction of adequate knowledge in accordance with the reality of these young people.(10) From this perspective, the use of technologies in health education promotes the exchange of information contextualized to the reality of the public, in an interactive way, to achieve favorable results. Nursing can make use of these resources in providing information, guidance, and clarification of doubts to this population. These contributions are responsible for promoting autonomy and a sense of responsibility in the individual.(10,11)
Nevertheless, it is important to emphasize the importance of research investigating the effectiveness of educational technologies to strengthen their reliability. Among existing technologies, one that stands out is the educational video entitled “Sexual violence among adolescents: how to prevent it?”, developed in whiteboard format and validated in terms of content and appearance by expert judges and the target audience, respectively.
Considering the above, the objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational video on sexual violence in the knowledge of school adolescents.
Methods
This is a quasi-experimental, randomized, single-group, pre- and post-test study. The analysis considered changes in adolescents’ knowledge before and after exposure to the educational video, following an intrasubjective design.(12)
The municipality chosen for the research did not have spatial analysis on rates of sexual violence among adolescents, so a lottery was held with all health districts belonging to the municipality, selecting Health District IV, which has 20 public high schools located in the capital of Pernambuco. Then, another lottery was held to identify the school and the participating adolescents.
For the study sample, composed of school adolescents aged 15 to 18 years, enrolled in the 1st to 3rd years of high school, an equation was used to study two paired proportions (before and after), with the participation of 82 adolescents. Adolescents with cognitive deficits, as reported by the educational institution, were excluded, as were those who did not attend any of the stages of the study.
To assess the adolescents’ knowledge, a semi-structured questionnaire was applied, based on two previous studies, which was submitted to three expert judges for evaluation of its reliability and adequacy.(5,13) The instrument consisted of two parts, the first containing sociodemographic data and the second containing 17 questions about adolescents’ knowledge of sexual violence prevention, with three response options: “true,” “false,” and “I don’t know.”
Data collection was carried out in three stages: (1) administration of the questionnaire (pre-test) to assess adolescents’ knowledge about the prevention of sexual violence; (2) intervention with the screening of the video “Sexual violence in adolescents: how to prevent it”; (3) re-administration of the questionnaire (post-test) on the 7th day to assess the knowledge acquired.(14) All stages were carried out in the multimedia room provided by the educational institution, with prior scheduling with the research participants, during the months of February to June 2024.
The data were tabulated in Excel version 14.0 software and subsequently transferred to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 software. To describe the adolescents’ knowledge before and after the intervention, an association test was used, a generalized version of McNemar’s chi-square test, applied to a simple paired sample, with nominal scales of two possible values.
The research complied with the ethical principles of Resolution No. 466/2012, under opinion No. 5,907,818 and Certificate of Ethical Presentation and Appraisal No. 62886120.6.0000.9430 of the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Pernambuco.
Results
Eighty-two school-aged adolescents participated, of whom 45.1% (37) were male and 54.9% (45) were female, with an average age of 17 years. In terms of educational level, 11% (9) were in the first year, 35.4% (29) in the second year, and 53.7% (44) in the third year of high school. Regarding the adolescents’ knowledge of sexual violence prevention before and after the educational intervention, it was found that all variables, except “harassment as sexual violence,” had an increase in the percentage of correct answers after the intervention. Statistical significance was observed in the following knowledge variables: “presentation of sexual violence” (p-value = 0.002); “I would take you home” (p-value = 0.002) and “reporting sexual violence and dangerous situations” (p-value = 0.02). (Table 1).
Characteristics of school adolescents’ knowledge regarding the prevention of sexual violence before and after the use of an educational video
In the assessment of statements related to “selling one’s body for profit” and “sexual violence/guardianship council/health professional”, 100% (82) of adolescents answered correctly in the post-test. In the variable “legal protection of adolescents”, there was a significant increase, with 61% (50) of participants answering correctly before the intervention and 92.7% (76) after the intervention. However, due to the limitations of the McNemar test, it was not possible to obtain the “p” value for the above variable.
Discussion
Assessing the effectiveness of an educational video in preventing sexual violence among adolescents allows its reliability to be verified, making it a determining factor in the health education process for these young people. In this study, it was observed that after watching the educational video, there was a higher number of correct answers on the assessment tool, results that elucidate a change in adolescents’ knowledge of the issues surrounding sexual violence.
Sexual violence is viewed by the vast majority as the act of sex itself, and some portray that consensual practice in all cases does not constitute an act of sexual violence. However, this cannot be affirmed when the population refers to adolescents who are still in the process of physical, cognitive, and emotional development.(14,15)
The results show that some adolescents consider the possibility of sexual violence occurring without physical contact, with obscene comments and/or gestures being sufficient for this offense to occur. This belief was reinforced after exposure to the educational video, with an increase in adolescents’ knowledge about the different forms that sexual violence can take.
Low socioeconomic status, limited family support, and the adolescent discovery phase are highlighted in the literature as situations that make this population vulnerable to health issues.(16,17) Given this, a tendency toward risky behavior was observed among adolescents, making it necessary to use health education as a tool to increase these young people’s knowledge, with the aim of ensuring the principle of equity in strengthening adolescent leadership.
After watching the educational video, adolescents also demonstrated a greater understanding of the risk factors that may be present in their routine and how to act in unexpected situations to avoid sexual violence. In line with this, the study highlights incipient knowledge as a facilitating factor for inappropriate behaviors and, consequently, greater exposure to dangerous situations.(18)
Among the risk factors associated with sexual violence, the following stand out: early sexual activity, alcohol and/or other drug use, dropping out of school, and risky behaviors associated with internet use.(19) To minimize exposure to these risk factors, preventive actions based on social, community, and interpersonal aspects are necessary, with the active participation of family members, also highlighting the importance of health education based on validated and evaluated educational technologies, in order to ensure reliability and feasibility.(16)
Regarding the definition of sexual exploitation, this study showed in the analysis of the domain “selling one’s body for profit” that after watching the educational video, all adolescents stated that selling one’s body for profit with the adolescent’s consent should be considered sexual exploitation. This finding is consistent with a previous study that defines sexual exploitation as the commercialization of adolescents’ bodies for sexual purposes, with the aim of obtaining profit or benefits for the exploiter, with the adolescent’s consent, even though it is still considered an act of sexual exploitation.(20)
A study conducted with 186 adolescents aged between 10 and 17 years old observed that school is considered a protective factor against sexual exploitation. This was also evident in this research, since this institution was the place where these young people had access to the educational video on the prevention of sexual violence.(20) As school is a welcoming environment for these young people, it allows access to their vulnerabilities and main needs. Therefore, exposure to educational technology to increase knowledge encourages protagonism in the prevention of sexual violence.
An expression used in the context of sexual violence is the “culture of silence”, defined as the impossibility or inability of individuals to interfere in issues that permeate the social community, with a negative impact on combating sexual violence, as it allows the perpetuation of oppression by aggressors against adolescents, who are one of the age groups most affected by this abuse.(21) However, anonymous reporting is presented as a tool capable of enhancing the prevention of sexual violence.(22)
Another significant finding in this study was adolescents’ fear of reporting cases, which was seen as a risky situation. A study conducted at Sultan Qaboos University, located in Western Asia, showed that 53% of students and 50% of staff were unwilling to report acts of sexual violence, finding that this episode was linked to fear of retaliation or revenge by the aggressor.(22) Another study showed that the victim’s fear is related to feelings of guilt.(3)The educational video presented here highlights the importance of reporting abuse, regardless of who the perpetrator is. Reporting abuse makes it possible to combat sexual violence and prevent new cases from occurring or recurring.(16)
The implementation of educational videos as a teaching strategy and interactive tool for learning fundamental nursing skills is effective compared to the traditional classroom approach based on general demonstrations.(23)A randomized clinical trial conducted in Japan with 20 participants revealed that video-based educational training can be an effective tool for improving performance and shortening the learning curve.(24) Therefore, educational videos, considered a complementary health education strategy, can be used in different scenarios by nurses, providing users with increased knowledge.
Sexual violence among adolescents is the result of a backward historical process, marked by the low visibility of health care for these young people. In contrast, with the implementation of the ECA, adolescents began to recognize the regulations defining their rights and duties.(25) This study clearly showed that, after analyzing the effectiveness of the educational video, a significant number of adolescents recognized their rights and duties, encouraging these young people to take a leading role. The results converged with research conducted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which used an educational video as an intervention and showed the effectiveness of this educational technology in the knowledge of family caregivers about bathing full-term newborns at home.(26) Educational technology, as an innovative and attractive teaching resource aligned with the particularities of adolescent development, plays an important role in detecting indicators of sexual violence in this age group, as well as in disseminating content that promotes the internalization of preventive practices.(27)
Educational technologies are widely used in nursing in the health education process due to their interactive capacity; however, educational videos aimed at adolescents still need to be further encouraged. The significant increase in the number of correct answers in the post-test, evidenced in this study, may encourage the use of this type of technology to promote assertive attitudes among adolescents when exposed to their reality. Therefore, this type of technology has great potential for health education practices adopted by nursing, going beyond the technocratic model of care, with dialogical interaction with the target audience.
The limitation of this study lies in the fact that the analysis was carried out in a single scenario, hindering the external validity of the research.
Conclusion
The use of the educational video entitled “Sexual violence in adolescents: how to prevent it?” contributed to an increase in adolescents’ knowledge about the forms of sexual violence, the interpretation of everyday expressions that can condition adolescents to vulnerability to sexual violence, and the possibilities for preventing and interrupting this abuse, with an emphasis on recognizing the support network for reporting sexual violence. Thus, the educational video proved to be an important tool in the health education process to prevent sexual violence among adolescents. Further studies are recommended to test the effectiveness of the educational video presented here to verify its feasibility among the target audience.
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Data availability:
The survey data are available in the article.
Edited by
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Associate Editor:
Paula Hino (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1408-196X) Escola Paulista de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
The survey data are available in the article.
