Attitudes of parents, professionals and general population towards sexuality of people with physical and intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Negative attitudes towards sexuality of people with disabilities are the main impediment to their psychosexual development. This paper analyzes the attitudes towards sexuality of people with physical and intellectual disabilities in parents, professionals who work with them and the general population. For this purpose, we use the Attitudes toward Sexuality in Persons with Intellectual Disability Scale (ASEXDI) and the Attitudes toward Sexuality in Persons with Physical Disability Scale (ASEXDF) in a sample of 300 people: 100 family members, 100 professionals and 100 people from the general population. The results indicate that parents have more conservative attitudes than the professionals who work with this group. General population have more favorable sexual attitudes towards people with physical disabilities than people with intellectual disabilities. We must work to improve attitudes towards sexuality of people with disabilities to achieve a free and adequate expression of their sexuality.

Keywords

• actitudes
• sexualidad
• discapacidad
• diversidad funcional