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Judging the Acceptability of Sexual Intercourse Among People with Learning Disabilities: French Laypeople’s Viewpoint

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Abstract

The importance of different situational factors that may alter acceptability judgments (i.e., gender, etiology of the disability, person’s present level of autonomy, use of contraceptive devices, and partner’s age and possible handicap) with regards to the sexuality of people with learning disability was examined. Participants were members of the community in France, aged 19–70. They were presented with several concrete cases in which a young person with a learning disability is having sexual intercourse. The participants’ main concerns were centered on the consequences of the sexual relationships, and not on the relationships per se. Relationships that could lead to procreation were judged not acceptable, even if the child could be cared for by a non-handicapped parent. They were judged moderately acceptable in the cases when the person is autonomous, the partner is of the same age and is also handicapped, and the relationship is a protected one.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the “Université de Toulouse” (UTM, CNRS, EPHE), by the CRPP (Centre d’Etude et de Recherche en Psychopathologie), and by the Ethics and Work laboratory of the Institute of Advanced Studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mirail University, Toulouse, France

    Mélanie Esterle & Maria Teresa Muñoz Sastre

  2. Institute of Advanced Studies, Quefes 17 bis, 31830, Plaisance du Touch, France

    Etienne Mullet

Authors
  1. Mélanie Esterle
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  2. Maria Teresa Muñoz Sastre
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  3. Etienne Mullet
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Etienne Mullet.

Appendix A

Appendix A

Françoise Chauvin, 19 years old, has regular sexual intercourse with Louis Viégeois, 22 years old.

Françoise has a learning disability. She suffers from Trisomia 21 (Mongolism).

Thanks to a favorable environment, she, however, has a relatively autonomous social life.

Louis has no learning disability.

Françoise and Louis use contraception devices.

To what extent do you consider that the sexual relationships between Françoise and Louis are, in their present form, acceptable?

Not at all o-----o-----o-----o-----o-----o-----o-----o-----o-----o-----o Completely

René Lartigue, 19 years old, has regular sexual intercourse with Marie-Paule Laumond, 42 years old.

René has a learning disability. He suffers from an intellectual retardation that is due to a trauma during delivery. René is, unfortunately, completely dependent.

Marie-Paule suffers from the same kind of learning disability as René. René and Marie-Paule do not use any contraceptive device.

To what extent do you consider that the sexual relationships between René and Marie-Paule are, in their present form, acceptable?

Not at all o-----o-----o-----o-----o-----o-----o-----o-----o-----o-----o Completely

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Esterle, M., Muñoz Sastre, M.T. & Mullet, E. Judging the Acceptability of Sexual Intercourse Among People with Learning Disabilities: French Laypeople’s Viewpoint. Sex Disabil 26, 219–227 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-008-9093-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-008-9093-9

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