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Educational Interventions on Sexuality for Parents of Children and Adolescents with Intellectual Disabilities: An Integrative Review

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Abstract

The aim of this article was to identify educational interventions on sexuality for parents of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities. This is an integrative literature review. In May, 2023, searches were carried out in 12 databases using the keywords: intellectual disability, sexuality, sexual communication, intervention, program, and parents and Boolean operators AND and OR. The thematic analysis of the nine articles found resulted in the theme: Sex education programs and their interventions, and three sub-themes: (a) conceptualization and design of the programs; (b) from taboo to confidence: increasing self-perception of competence to approach sex education; and (c) speaking the same language: how sex education can contribute to improving communication between parents and children with intellectual disabilities. The results showed that the interventions were effective in promoting positive changes in self-efficacy, contributed to increasing knowledge about sexuality, improved the quality and frequency of communication about sexuality in the family context, and addressed parents' beliefs and attitudes, considering their cultural and personal context with a view to promoting positive changes in these areas. The development of sex education strategies prepares parents and families for handling and safely guiding children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities. The interventions showed a positive impact on parents and their children. Future investigations combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to the evaluation of these sex education programs are necessary, in order to provide a broader and deeper view of the results achieved.

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Funding

The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

    Tatiane Geralda André, Giovanna Cristina Machado-Kayzuka, Milena de Lucca & Lucila Castanheira Nascimento

  2. Mato Grosso Do Sul State University, Dourados, MS, Brazil

    Sara Carlitos Quinava, Márcia Regina Martins Alvarenga & Eduardo Espindola Fontoura-Junior

  3. Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil

    Nayara Gonçalves Barbosa

  4. College of Nursing at Los Mochis, Unversity of Sinaloa, Los Mochis, México

    Carolina Valdez-Montero

  5. University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

    Maria Dolores Gil-Llario

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  1. Tatiane Geralda André
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by TGA, GCMK, SCQ, MDL. The first draft of the manuscript was written by NGB, MRMA, EEF, CVM, MDGL, LCN and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Tatiane Geralda André.

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André, T.G., Machado-Kayzuka, G.C., Quinava, S.C. et al. Educational Interventions on Sexuality for Parents of Children and Adolescents with Intellectual Disabilities: An Integrative Review. Sex Disabil (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-023-09825-8

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