The assessment of sexual knowledge in people with intellectual disability

Author's summary

[Authors' abstract]

The aims of this study were to evaluate components of a new tool, the Assessment of Sexual Knowledge (ASK), and to use it to assess the sexual knowledge of adults with intellectual disability. The ASK consists of a Knowledge Section, an Attitudes Section, a Quick Knowledge Quiz and a Problematic Socio-Sexual Behaviours Checklist. A sample of 96 adults with intellectual disability participated in the study. The Knowledge Section was administered twice (with a one to two week interval between testing) to examine its test-retest reliability. Inter-rater reliability was determined by having a second scorer for approximately a third of participants. The Quick Knowledge Quiz (QKQ) was also administered to examine its relationship with the Knowledge Section. The results of this study suggest that the ASK is a tool that is reliable across examiners and will also elicit responses that are stable over time. The relationship between the Knowledge Section and the QKQ indicated that the QKQ is a predictor of knowledge scores in the ASK. In terms of people with intellectual disability's knowledge, the results demonstrated their poor overall knowledge of sexuality, particularly in the areas of sexually transmitted infections, sexual health, safer sex practices, legal issues and contraception.

Resource Center comment

The document is an article coming from an Australian research regarding the relevance of an understanding tool regarding the sexuality knowledge for people with disabilities. This tool, which is a questionnaire, was entitled Assessment of Sexual Knowledge (ASK). 96 people with an intellectual impairment and living in Melbourne (Australia) were interviewed. The results highlight lacks of knowledge on sexuality for people with an intellectual impairment. Those results lead the authors to consider people with an intellectual impairment are involved in inadequate training programs.    

[Commentaire en français]

Le document est un article issu d’une recherche australienne sur la pertinence d’un outil de compréhension de la connaissance de la sexualité chez des personnes handicapées. L’outil en question, sous forme de questionnaire, était intitulé Assessment of Sexual Knowledge (ASK). 96 personnes ayant une déficience intellectuelle, résidant à Melbourne (Australie), furent interrogées. Les résultats indiquent des manques de connaissance sur la sexualité, chez les personnes ayant une déficience intellectuelle. Ces résultats amènent les auteurs à considérer que les personnes ayant une déficience intellectuelle sont impliquées dans des programmes d’éducation inappropriés. Le document sera utile aux professionnels travaillant dans le champ du handicap et souhaitant mieux appréhender les connaissances en matière de sexualité des personnes ayant une déficience intellectuelle.