Randomized Control Trial Protocol to Evaluate an Engaged-Bystander Approach to Prevent Child Sex Trafficking

Risk factors for child sex trafficking (CST) include substance use among familial traffickers, family violence, and poverty. Our research team will develop a novel intervention and prevention program based on these risk factors to reduce CST. We describe the design and methods we will use to evaluate our county-level cluster randomized control trial (cRCT) conducted in middle schools. Research aims include testing the combined effectiveness of 1) a mass media campaign targeting CST prevention and 2) an engaged-bystander training intervention to reduce CST. Fifty counties with >2 middle schools were randomized to the intervention (25 counties, 113 eligible schools) or attention control (25 counties, 101 eligible schools). Intervention counties will receive both a CST prevention-focused mass media campaign (billboards) and CST intervention training. The online CST engaged-bystander training will be offered to consenting middle school staff within intervention counties. Middle school staff in control counties will also receive online training focused solely on CST identification, referral, and reporting. To evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention versus control, consenting participants will be asked to complete pre- and post-training surveys, their assigned training, and follow-up surveys. Outcome measures include knowledge, attitudes, willingness, and self-efficacy to reduce CST by actions to identify children at risk, make referrals, and report CST. Implementing CST prevention and intervention training is anticipated to increase actions taken to reduce CST risk in intervention versus control counties. Reductions in CST risk could have direct relevance for national CST prevention programming.