Sexual Activity of Young Adults who are Visually Impaired and the Need for Effective Sex Education

Abstract

Introduction Little research has been reported on all aspects of sexuality as it pertains to individuals with visual impairments. This article analyzes data on the sexual experiences of young adults who are visually impaired and young adults without disabilities. Methods The authors conducted a secondary analysis of the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) federal database and assessed a nationally representative sample of transition-aged young adults with visual impairments. During the same period as the NLTS2, identical survey questions were asked of young adults without disabilities who participated in survey research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC survey sample included young adults who were two to three years younger than the participants in the NLTS2 sample. The descriptive analysis presents estimates of the sexual activity and use of contraception by both samples. Results Of the transition-aged young adults with visual impairments, 57% reported having sexual intercourse, and of the transition-aged young adults without disabilities, 65% reported having sexual intercourse. Likewise, nearly 40% of the young adults with visual impairments and approximately 50% of those without disabilities reported having had sexual intercourse in the three months before the survey. The use of condoms was also similar (64% of those with visual impairments and 54% of those without disabilities) even though the use of contraceptives other than condoms varied between the samples. Discussion The transition-aged young adults with visual impairments reported having similar rates of sexual experiences as their sighted counterparts, except two to three years later. Implications for Practitioners The researchers concluded that there is a need to provide effective instruction in sexual health that incorporates meaningful methods and materials that are designed specifically to meet the unique needs of young adults who are visually impaired.

Differences in Sexual Behavior of Teenagers and Young Adults with Cerebral Palsy: The Role of Sexual Needs and Sexual Esteem

“…Their main focus is on persons with intellectual disability or spinal cord injuries, mostly those who were sexually active when becoming disabled and wished to have a satisfactory sex life again [6, 9, 14, 33, 34, 36, 39–42, 63, 79, 80]. The difference between them and people with intellectual disabilities is that the latter need sexual education to understand what situations are likely to be perceived as embarrassing by other people, and as a protection from sexual abuse [8, 46–48, 54, 57, 59, 60].…”

Репродуктивно Здравље Жена Са Оштећењем Вида

“…Primary spasmodic dysmenorrhea was reported by 80% of the participants (Joshi & Joshi, 2019). Although there is no reliable data, Kelly and Kapperman think that frequency of infections caused by chlamydia and gonorrhea, in young WVI, comes at similar percent as in the peers with typical development and that youth with visual impairment enter into sexual relations two to three years later than youth without visual impairment (Kelly & Kapperman, 2012).…”

Teaching blind women about the anatomy and physiology of the female reproductive system through educational manual

“…2 The consequences of this behavior are aggravated when combined with the lack of health educational materials adapted and accessible to the blind population. 8 Educational technologies can be quite effective as a strategy in preventing and promoting health in general. Thus, an educational manual justifies the lack of accessible materials that address themes related to sexuality.…”