Children and Internet Safety: An Evaluation
of the Missing Program
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Internet victimization of children and youth is a growing concern among parents,
educators, and law enforcement officials. Predators may use the
Internet to build up a trusting relationship with a child who is
willing to share personal details of his or her life. The focus
of one approach to reducing Internet victimization of youth is prevention
through education, such as the Missing program. Teaching young people
not to reveal key pieces of personal information about themselves
when they are online is very important in encouraging them to become
safe users of the Internet.
The Missing program includes an interactive computer game designed
to encourage youth to develop their own guidelines for safe use
of the Internet. The purpose of the present research project is
to evaluate whether the Missing program is successful in encouraging
youth in Grades 6 and 7 to: (1) develop their own safe guidelines
for using the Internet, (2) decrease the
frequency of their risky online behaviours and (3) assume more cautious
attitudes toward safety on the Internet. The evaluation of the Missing
program was accomplished through: (1) surveys of children who played
the Missing game (treatment group) and those who did not play the
game (comparison group), (2) surveys of the classroom teachers involved
in playing the Missing game, and (3) information from a principal
member of the Missing project staff. The survey assessment of the
effectiveness of the Missing game was performed within a pre-test/post-test
design, with both a treatment and a comparison group.
Pre-test Levels of Risky Online Behaviours and Safety-Related
Attitudes
The examination of the pre-test responses for risky online behaviours
and attitudes related to Internet safety indicated that, in this
sample of Grade 6 and 7 students, these behaviours and attitudes
were at low levels before the Missing game was played. Very few
pre-test differences between the treatment and the comparison group
were noted, with the exception of three safety-related attitudes
items. This is important because it suggests that the treatment
group and comparison group were quite similar at the pre-test in
terms of our variables of interest, that is (1) risky online behaviours
and (2) safety-related attitudes. In general, the treatment group
did not start out with safer behaviours and attitudes than did the
comparison group. There was some evidence that females were thinking
and behaving in a somewhat safer
fashion than were males at the time of the pre-test.
Main Analyses
One of the principal findings of the present study is that the
treatment group wrote more safe guidelines for their Internet use
at the post-test than did the comparison group. This indicates that
students are able to write more safe guidelines after playing Missing
than are students who have not played the computer game. The results,
however, for the specific items assessing frequency of risky online
behaviours and attitudes concerning Internet safety measured in
the present study did not allow us to conclude that playing the
game had an effect in these areas for the sample of students in
Grades 6 and 7 that we assessed. These results should be considered
within the context of measurement issues involved in the pre-post
design (e.g., repeated testing) and other methodological considerations
(e.g., diffusion of treatment) that make it difficult to draw strong
conclusions concerning risky online behaviours and safety-related
attitudes. In addition, it must be remembered that levels of risky
online behaviours and unsafe attitudes were very low in this sample
of Grade 6 and 7 students. We recommend that the Missing program
be evaluated with students in both Grade 7 and 8. At this age, the
game is still
age appropriate and by Grade 7 and 8, students may be more active
on the Internet than are younger children and thus better able to
respond to questions concerning their attitudes related to Internet
safety.
Effectiveness of the "Missing" Program
It is very encouraging that differences were noted for the Internet
Safety Plans, which may be considered to be the behaviour which
is most directly tied to the goals of the Missing program. The significant
results favouring the treatment group for the Internet Safety Guidelines
provides preliminary evidence that playing Missing contributes to
safer online behaviour because
it encourages children to develop safe rules for their Internet
use.
The Missing program has been demonstrated to be very effective in
stimulating children's enjoyment and interest in learning about
Internet safety. The ability of children who have played the game
to formulate more safe guidelines for their online behaviour than
do children who have not played the game indicates that the Missing
computer game can be used effectively as part of an Internet safety
awareness program.
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