AN EMPIRICAL-STUDY OF THE SEXUAL ABUSE OF PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

This study describes a comparison between the level of sexual knowledg e and experience of sexual abuse among people with intellectual disabi lity and people without intellectual disability. The Sexual Abuse sect ion of the Sexual Knowledge, Experience, and Needs Scale (SexKen) was completed by 30 people with intellectual disability (18 females, 12 ma les) and 50 control subjects (32 females, 18 males). The results demon strated a lower level of sexual knowledge among the people with a disa bility but no differences between the groups in the level of incest an d other unwanted sexual activities. There was a high percentage of peo ple with intellectual disability who believed that someone else decide s about the level of their sexual experience. They also expressed less negativity about sexual abuse. These findings are discussed in the co ntext of sex education programs for people with intellectual disabilit y.