Improving Empathy in the Prevention of Sexual Abuse Against Children and Youngsters

Abstract

The aim of this research is to study the improvement of empathy in child-care professionals (i.e., teachers, psychologists, social workers) involved in the prevention of sexual abuse against children and youngsters. An E-Learning training pilot program was conducted with pre- and post-measures (T₁ = at the beginning and T₂ = after 6 months) using the program’s standardized questionnaires of Situational Empathy and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) as a Dispositional Empathy measure. A sample of 42 experienced professionals involved in activities with children and youngsters was obtained from the International Movement of Popular Education in Latin America called “Fe y Alegría.” Significant progress was found in the scales of Situational Empathy and in some Coping subscales. The final outcomes seem to indicate that the prevention program elicits important changes in the cognitive sphere and that these changes are more intense when the implication level for the situation is greater. This research shows that empathy can be improved through professional experience and careful situational involvement.

Keywords:

• child-care professionals
• E-Learning
• emotions
• empathetic communication
• Fe y Alegría
• intervention pilot program

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors gratefully acknowledge support from their own and Universities. We used as the main tool the Moodle platform of the Centre for Child Protection of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Both the logistic support as well as the study sample data (survey of anonymous responses) were provided by the Archdiocese of Munich & Freising in cooperation with the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at Ulm University Medical Center (both are cooperation partners of the Centre for Child Protection of the Pontifical Gregorian University), and Soon-Systems Ltd. (Specialist Expertise E-Learning). This pilot program (Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse for Pastoral Professions) draws on a related public-sponsored program for educational and health-care professionals in the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). To get the sample to be studied, we used the virtual training pilot programme for professionals of a Pedagogical Initiative in the International Federation Fe y Alegría, whose goal is to offer the benefit of a high quality education to children and adolescents living in poverty and risk conditions in Latin America, Africa, and Italy.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Carlos Ignacio Man-Ging

Dr. Carlos Ignacio Man-Ging Lic. Psych, Dr, is an Associate Professor in the School of Philosophy and Theology at Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. His current research interests focus on Youth Culture, Sexual abuse and Clinic Psychotherapy. He received his Lic. Psych from the Pontifical Gregorian University and his doctoral degree in Literature from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador.

Bettina Böhm

Bettina Böhm, MSc, is an associate researcher in the Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy, Ulm University Medical Center. Her current research interests focus on aspects of sexual abuse perpetrators of sexual offending. She received her MSc in Forensic Psychology from the University of Surrey.

Katharina Anna Fuchs

Dr. Katharina Anna Fuchs Dipl. Psych. PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Psychology, Pontifical Gregorian University. Her current research interests focus on Child sexual abuse, clinical psychology, emotion recognition, empathy, interdisciplinary research between psychology and canon law. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology (Dr.phil) from the University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt.

Susanne Witte

Susanne Witte Dypl. Psych., is a research assistant at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the Ulm University Medical Center. Her research interests are child sexual abuse, international aspects of child protection, E-Learning and sibling relationships.

Eckhard Frick

Prof. Dr. Eckhard Frick, M.D., Psychoanalyst, PhD, is a Professor of Anthropological Psychology at the Munich School of Philosophy and at the Medical School, Technical University of Munich in the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine. His current research interests focus on exploring spiritual resources for patients and health care professionals. He received his M.D. from the University of Muenster and his tenure in Psychosomatic Medicine from the University of Munich.