Validity and reliability of SmartShield questionnaire for sexual abuse prevention among primary school children
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Mohamad Najib Mat Pa 1 , Mohd Noor Norhayati 2 * , Nik Hazlina Nik Hussain 3 , Zaharah Sulaiman 3 , Azizah Othman 4 , Azliana Aziz 5
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1 Department of Medical Education, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, MALAYSIA2 Department of Family Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, MALAYSIA3 Women’s Health Development Unit, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, MALAYSIA4 Department of Paediatrics, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, MALAYSIA5 Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, MALAYSIA* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Child sexual abuse is a critical public health issue, affecting one in eight children worldwide. This study evaluates the validity and reliability of the SmartShield questionnaires, designed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and skills related to sexual education and abuse prevention among primary school children. The SmartShield 1 and SmartShield 2 questionnaires underwent validation processes, including expert content validation, face validation with teachers, and internal structure assessment involving 167 children in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. The results indicated strong content validity index averages of 0.90 and 0.91, and face validity index averages of 0.87 and 0.89, both exceeding established cut-offs. Additionally, the internal consistency, measured by Cronbach’s alpha, showed acceptable values for both questionnaires. Overall, the SmartShield questionnaires are validated tools for assessing children’s knowledge, attitudes, and skills regarding sexual education and abuse prevention. These instruments are valuable for future research aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of sexual abuse prevention programs.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Original Article

ELECTRON J GEN MED, Volume 22, Issue 2, April 2025, Article No: em635

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/15995

Publication date: 01 Mar 2025

Online publication date: 18 Feb 2025

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