Evidences of an Implemented Training Program in Consensual and Responsible Sexual Relations for People with Intellectual Disabilities

• Main Authors: Belén Gutiérrez-Bermejo, Noelia Flores, Pedro J. Amor, Cristina Jenaro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: intellectual disability; sexual behavior; interpersonal relationships; sexual health; rights; sexual abuse
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/5/2323

(1) Background: While there is a growing awareness of the rights of individuals with intellectual disabilities, very limited progress has been made in supporting these people to create and maintain intimate and personal relationships. (2) Methods: This paper reports the results from a program aimed at promoting responsible and consensual sexual relations of adults with intellectual disabilities. Of the 44 participants, 31.8% were women and 68.2% were men aged 22 to 67 years. Pre and post measurements regarding the attitudes toward sexual relations were taken, and difficulty and discrimination indexes were calculated. (3) Results: Statistically significant improvements were identified in the overall measurements, as were they for the domains of privacy, safety, and respect. The difficulty index changed from 0.67 to 0.79 in a pre-post assessment, denoting more positive attitudes. This and other results support the relevance and usefulness of the intervention program and encourage further intervention efforts.