Marriage Challenges of Women with Intellectual Disability in Iran: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Sexual desire is a natural and important human need, and, as part of human diversity, people with intellectual disability (PWID) have the right to have sex, marry and bear children. However, due to the dependence of PWID on their caregivers, their sexuality is influenced by the opinions of their caregivers. This qualitative study was conducted with the aim of discovering opinions of caregivers about the sexual needs and the issue of marriage in women with intellectual disability (WWID). Sampling was conducted in three intellectual disability care centers, two rehabilitation centers and a school of exceptional students in Tehran, Iran. Deep and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 intellectual disability caregivers. Data was analyzed using the content analysis method of Zhang and Wildemuth. Data analysis led to the emergence of two main themes and four categories. The first theme was “non-responsive sexual consciousness” with two categories: “positive thinking about the sexual needs of WWID” and “cultural weakness in accepting satisfaction of sexual needs in WWID”; and the second theme was, “the colorless dream of marriage”, with the categories of “wedding dress, dream of WWID” and “marriage of WWID, a challenging issue”. In spite of the desire of WWID for marriage, this issue is controversial from the viewpoint of caregivers. This difference in opinion is due to the lack of knowledge of caregivers about the abilities of PWID, insufficient information of WWID regarding marriage, lack of government support for facilitating the conditions of marriage of PWID and lack of social support in this area.