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

NCT06300957 | Completed DMC

• 3 other identifiers: IRB00023124CE003310OMB NO: 0920-1301
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 147
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief 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

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Sexual Behavior Involving Minors Scale (SBIMS).

  8 items; score range from 8 to 40; higher scores indicate more problem behavior.

  Baseline, 1 month post waitlist (waitlist only), 1 month post-intervention, 3 months

• Sexual Child Molestation Risk Assessment (SChiMRA) score

  6 items; scores involve marking an X on a slide rule from "very likely" to "not at all likely or nearly every day"; marks further to the right indicate higher risk.

  Baseline, 1 month post waitlist (waitlist only), 1 month post-intervention, 3 months

Secondary Outcomes (14)

• Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21)

  Baseline, 1 month post waitlist (waitlist only), 1 month post-intervention, 3 months

• Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale (SIDAS)

  Baseline, 1 month post waitlist (waitlist only), 1 month post-intervention, 3 months

• General Self-Efficacy Scale - Short Form (GSE-6).

  Baseline, 1 month post waitlist (waitlist only), 1 month post-intervention, 3 months

• Revised University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale

  Baseline, 1 month post waitlist (waitlist only), 1 month post-intervention, 3 months

• Self-Efficacy Scale Related to Minors (SESM)

  Baseline, 1 month post waitlist (waitlist only), 1 month post-intervention, 3 months

Other Outcomes (7)

• Demographic characteristics as assessed by survey developed by study team

  Baseline

• Number of Sexual Health Services Used

  Baseline, 1 month post waitlist (waitlist only), 1 month post-intervention, 3 months

• Sexual Offence Self-Report Risk Scale (SOSRS):

  Baseline, 1 month post waitlist (waitlist only), 1 month post-intervention, 3 months

Study Arms (2)

Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will be randomly assigned 2:1 to Experimental or Waitlist Control conditions. Experimental group will immediately access "Help Wanted", a secondary prevention program for adults who self-identify as having sexual attraction to children. Help Wanted is an online self-help curriculum to prevent Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) and reduce the psychosocial stressors of help-seekers. Content is designed to increase knowledge about CSA, counter distorted attitudes and cognitions, cope with sexual thoughts and urges about children, support development of a healthy sexuality, counter stigma and shame, build a positive self-image, and encourage safe disclosure practices. Harm and risks are clearly identified within an overall positive messaging framework. Help Wanted incorporates testimonials from survivors and from positive role models, avoids the collection of personal identifiers or reportable information, and adheres to other best practices of prevention programming.

Other: Help Wanted Prevention Intervention

Waitlist Control

OTHER

Participants randomized to the Waitlist Control group will be barred from accessing the Help Wanted program for a period of one month.

Other: Waitlist Control

Interventions

Help Wanted Prevention Intervention OTHER

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.

Intervention

Waitlist Control OTHER

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.

Waitlist Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Gender Eligibility Details: Cisgender and transgender men are eligible
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Men (cis-gender and transgender)
• Age 18 and older (no upper age limit)
• Self-identified sexual attraction to prepubescent or early pubescent children
• No prior contact offense with a child
• Never accessed the Help Wanted intervention.

You may not qualify if:

• Women (cis-gender and transgender)
• Under age 18
• No sexual attraction to prepubescent or early pubescent children
• Any prior contact offense with a child
• Previously accessed the Help Wanted intervention

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: lead
• Barry University: collaborator
• University of Massachusetts, Lowell: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Baltimore, Maryland, 21231, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Shields RT, Murray SM, Ruzicka AE, Buckman C, Kahn G, Benelmouffok A, Letourneau EJ. Help wanted: Lessons on prevention from young adults with a sexual interest in prepubescent children. Child Abuse Negl. 2020 Jul;105:104416. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104416. Epub 2020 Feb 17.

  PMID: 32081437 BACKGROUND

Related Links

• Help Wanted is an online, self-paced intervention designed to support the needs of people with a sexual attraction to children, who wish to keep children and themselves safe.

Study Officials

• Elizabeth J Letourneau, PhD

  Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: In Phase one investigators will recruit 10 participants to test out the study protocols. All 10 participants will go through the same study procedures. In Phase two, investigators will recruit 300 participants to take part in the RCT, 200 in the HW group and 100 in the WL group. After consenting to participate and completing the first online survey, participants will be randomized to either an intervention condition (N =200) or wait-list control condition (N =100) using a 2:1 allocation. The intervention group will gain access to Help Wanted for 1 month after which the participants will complete a post-intervention survey and then a three-month follow up survey. Participants in the control group will receive alternative resources for one month, then complete a one-month post-waitlist survey before being granted access to Help Wanted for a one-month period. The control group participants will then complete a one-month post-intervention survey and three-month follow-up survey.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 22, 2024
• First Posted: March 8, 2024
• Study Start: October 24, 2023
• Primary Completion: December 31, 2025
• Study Completion: December 31, 2025
• Last Updated: February 13, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)