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Cultural Adaptation and Evaluation of the RBYC Program in Germany: Towards Offender-Focused and School-Based Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse

Clara Niemann

Institut für Sexualwissenschaft und Sexualmedizin Charité -Universitätsmedizin Berlin

At the 15th EUSPR conference, Clara Niemann had the opportunity to present their latest research on Cultural Adaptation and Evaluation of the RBYCS. Check out the abstract of her presentation!

Child sexual abuse (CSA) remains a pressing public health issue. Recent studies have shed light on the fact that a large proportion of CSA cases are committed by adolescents, with a first peak in offences occurring between the ages of 14 and 17 (Averdijk et al., 2012; Finkelhor et al., 2009). The urgency to address this issue has led to the development of prevention strategies, particularly within school settings. Traditionally, many prevention programs focus on equipping children with the abilities to protect themselves from becoming victims of sexually boundary crossing behaviors and sexual abuse (e.g., Bowi & Kruse, 2007; Czerwinski et al., 2018). While this is undeniably crucial, it is only part of the solution. What is often overlooked is the need to prevent the development of harmful behavior where it potentially occurs. Early intervention with adolescents can have a profound impact in preventing first-time offenses before they even occur. The Responsible Behavior with Younger Children (RBYC) program, originally developed by the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse at Johns Hopkins University, seeks to address this critical gap (Letourneau et al., 2024). The program equips adolescents with the knowledge and skills to prevent peer sexual violence and inappropriate behavior towards younger children and peers.

Schools play a vital role in reaching adolescents before harmful behaviors can take root. Universal prevention is key to a comprehensive CSA prevention strategy. Implementing school-based programs like RBYC offers the advatages of a broad reach, targetting early and guaranteeing the possibility to create a cohort-wide culture of responsibility to prevent boundary crossing behaviors at all levels. The RBYC program is designed with this universal prevention approach in mind.

Clara Niemann during the 15th EUSPR Conference (Cremona, IT)

Clara Niemann during the 15th EUSPR Conference (Cremona, IT)

In the U.S., the RBYC program has shown promising results. It was tested in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 160 students, demonstrating increased knowledge of sexual boundaries and heightened intent to prevent abuse (Letourneau et al., 2024). The promising effects strongly speak for a broadening of RBYC and provide the baseline for studies with increased sample sizes.

In the current approach, RBYC will be transferred to the German school context. However, the program’s success in the U.S. doesn’t guarantee a one-size-fits-all solution. To ensure its effectiveness in Germany, the program is undergoing cultural adaptation, taking into account the social, cultural, and educational context (Bernal et al., 1995).

RBYC-Adapt consists of a 5-session lesson plan which will be delivered by pre-trained teachers to ensure effects of multiplication. An interactive approach ensures that the RBYC-Adapt contents of understanding good relationships, indentifying responsible vs. irresponsible behaviors, developing empathy for peers and younger children as well as identifying safe-adults will be easy to grasp for the students. By introducing the curriculum into the school system, the program not only educates but also fosters an environment where students learn to recognize and prevent inappropriate behaviors in themselves and others.

The current study surrounding RBYC-Adapt undergoes three phases: A cultural adaption phase, where relevant stakeholders of will receive contents of the translated curriculum materials in semi-structured interviews to assess cultural fit and make room for possible further adaptions of the program; A pilot phase where the adapted curriculum and questionnaires will be tested in two schools; And the final study of implementation where a RCT will be performed in 25 schools.

Charlotte Thiede during the 15th EUSPR Conference (Cremona, IT)

To measure the program’s effectiveness, the current study will use multi-level structural equation modeling (MSEM), allowing for the evaluation of both short- and long-term outcomes. Key outcome measures include improved attitudes and norms on boundary-crossing behavior, enhanced self-efficacy in preventing boundary-crossing behavior, and stronger intentions to act responsibly. The study will further measure the prevalence of both victimization and perpetration.

The project is still in its early stages, but initial recruitment of schools has been promising, with significant interest across German federal states and school types. Feedback from relevant stakeholders in schools indicate that RBYC-Adapt will fill a relevant gap in the German prevention landscape by targetting the onset of potential boundary crossing behavior. By addressing this gap in CSA prevention, the RBYC-Adapt project represents a significant step forward in preventing sexual violence by adolescents.

References

Averdijk, M., Mueller-Johnson, K., & Eisner, M. (2012). Sexuelle Viktimisierung von Kindern und Jugendlichen in der Schweiz.

Bernal, G., Bonilla, J., & Bellido, C. (1995). Ecological validity and cultural sensitivity for outcome research: Issues for the cultural adaptation and development of psychosocial treatments with Hispanics. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 23(1), 67–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01447045  

Bowi, U., & Kruse, J. (2007). Evaluation der Präventionsmaßnahme „Mein Körper gehört mir“ zur Vorbeugung des  sexuellen Missbrauchs an Grundschulen der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf.

https://www.tpwerkstatt.de/downloads/Mein_Koerper/Evaluation_Duesseldorf_MK.pdf         

Czerwinski, F., Finne, E., Alfes, J., & Kolip, P. (2018). Effectiveness of a school-based intervention to prevent child sexual abuse—Evaluation of the German IGEL program. Child Abuse & Neglect, 86, 109–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.08.023         

Finkelhor, D., Ormrod, R., & Chaffin, M. (2009). Juveniles who commit sex offenses against minors. Juvenile justice bulletin.

Letourneau, E. J., Schaeffer, C. M., Bradshaw, C. P., Ruzicka, A. E., Assini-Meytin, L. C., Nair, R., & Thorne, E. (2024). Responsible Behavior With Younger Children: Results From a Pilot Randomized Evaluation of a School-Based Child Sexual Abuse Perpetration Prevention Program. Child Maltreatment, 29(1), 129–141. https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595221130737

Preparing for the next EUSPR Conference (September 23-26, 2025 in Berlin) 

Are you planning to participate in the next EUSPR Conference? If so, do you intend to present further details about your work?

I will be participating in the Berlin EUSPR conference this year. We plan on presenting the current status and pilot results from our school based prevention project against child sexual abuse. I look forward to reconnect with other early career researchers and check in on how their projects have developed. I also look forward to engage with researchers in related fields, to find synergies and to stay on top of state of the art prevention research methods and forms of analysis.

About the author

Clara Niemann during the 15th EUSPR Conference (Cremona, IT)

Clara Niemann is a Berlin-based psychologist and researcher specializing in sexual medicine and clinical prevention. She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology from Humboldt University of Berlin, where her research focused on dynamic risk factors in individuals seeking help for pedophilic tendencies through video therapy.

Currently, Clara is engaged in sexual medicine training at the Berlin School for Sexual Health (BSSH) and works as a research assistant at the Institute for Sexology and Sexual Medicine at Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Her primary role involves coordinating and evaluating the RBYC-Adapt project, a randomized controlled trial designed to implement and assess prevention programs against child sexual abuse in schools.

Clara’s work bridges clinical practice and research, with expertise in data analysis, program development, and scientific publication.

You can contact her at clara.niemann[at]charite.de for any enquiries


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
EUSPR Early Careers Forum (January 20, 2025). Cultural Adaptation and Evaluation of the RBYC Program in Germany: Towards Offender-Focused and School-Based Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. Preventing disease and ill health. Retrieved May 17, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/1343q


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