Attitudes Towards Affectivity and Sexuality of People with Intellectual Disability

Abstract

The acceptance of sexuality and its manifestations has changed in recent decades to being considered a normal feature of the identity of each individual. However, the person with intellectual disability have not benefited from this change in attitude. Their sexuality remains shrouded in myths and prejudices. The study population consisted of 454 students from the University of Beira Interior, from the Medicine, Psychology and Architecture majors. The data was collected using a questionnaire specifically drafted for this research. Most surveyed students consider sexuality an important part of life for every human being. From the responses to the questionnaire, psychology students were those with a more positive attitude towards sexuality and affectivity of the individual with intellectual disability, but the variability of the distribution of student responses from the three majors did not differ significantly. A positive attitude is characteristic of those who have acquired sufficient knowledge, females and of those who have frequent contact with individuals with intellectual disability.