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Abstract

Children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) face a high risk of victimization (including child abuse, neglect, bullying), yet prevention strategies for this population remain underrepresented and under-evaluated. This scoping review analyzes ten community-based victimization prevention programs for youth with IDD (ages 10–25) across North America, the Middle East, Europe, and Australia. Programs varied in structure, content, and teaching strategies, with all delivered over multiple sessions and most including evaluations of learning outcomes or implementation quality. However, none were adapted on a broad scale across multiple settings, populations, or geographic regions or addressed multiple forms of victimization. Given the effectiveness of prevention education in related fields, rigorous evaluation and tailored, evidence-based approaches are needed to enhance their impact. This review highlights existing programs, their methodologies, and the available evidence on their effectiveness, identifying key areas for future research and development in victimization prevention for children and youth with IDD.

Keywords

prevention education intellectual developmental disability intellectual disability developmental disability disability children youth

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Community-Based Victimization Prevention Education for Children and Youth With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Scoping Review

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