Iranian parents’ needs and willingness to use serious games for child sexual abuse prevention: a cross-sectional study

Child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention requires culturally sensitive and developmentally appropriate educational strategies. Parents play a crucial role in children’s sexuality education (SE); however, limited information exists about their perceptions of innovative educational approaches, such as serious games (SGs). This study aimed to assess Iranian parents’ perceived needs and attitudes regarding SE for CSA prevention, and their willingness to use SGs as a supportive educational tool. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 219 Iranian parents (79% mothers) with at least one child under 18 years, recruited via an online survey distributed across Iranian provinces. A researcher-developed questionnaire, based on expert input and the UNESCO sexuality education framework, assessed parents’ perceived needs, attitudes, and willingness to use SGs. Content validity was evaluated by nine experts (CVR = 0.94, via Lawshe’s method; CVI = 0.99, via the I-CVI/S-CVI/Ave procedure). Test–retest reliability, assessed among 20 parents over a one-week interval, demonstrated excellent stability (Spearman’s ρ = 0.90; ICC [1, 3] = 0.83). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests, including chi-square, Kruskal–Wallis H, Mann–Whitney U, and Spearman correlation, performed in Python. A total of 219 Iranian parents (79% mothers) participated in the study. Almost all parents (99.5%) recognized the importance of sexuality education for children’s safety, and 94.5% reported a need for supportive educational tools, although 74.9% had never used digital games for this purpose. Educational level was significantly associated with perceived need for educational tools (χ² [16] = 31.556, p = 0.012, Cramér’s V = 0.190); in a sensitivity analysis with collapsed categories, the association was also significant (χ² [4] = 14.725, p = 0.005, Cramér’s V = 0.183). Parents with higher educational attainment also showed greater willingness to use SGs (H [5] = 43.688, p < 0.001). Parents with prior SE experience were more willing to use SGs (U = 4706.0, p < 0.001, r = 0.264), and perceived need correlated positively with willingness to use SGs (ρ = 0.358, p < 0.001). Parents most often prioritized content on body awareness, personal boundaries, refusal skills, and identifying trusted adults. Iranian parents reported a strong perceived need for SE and conditional willingness to use SGs, particularly when content is culturally appropriate, age-specific, and expert-validated. As this study did not develop or test a SG, these findings indicate parental willingness rather than demonstrated acceptability, feasibility, or effectiveness; these outcomes should be evaluated in future intervention studies.