Nursing Students’ Perspectives on Sexual Development of Children with Intellectual Disability

Abstract

This descriptive study aimed to determine the perspectives of nursing students regarding sexual development of children with intellectual disability. This study was conducted with 455 nursing students at the Faculty of Health Sciences in the Western Black Sea Region of Turkey over the period September–November 2020. Data were collected from the students by e-mail. The instruments used to collect the data were a “Personal Charateristics Form” and the “Perspectives on Sexual Development of Children with Intellectual Disability Questionnaire,” which were prepared by the researchers. In this study, 55.4% of the students had previously received training on sexual development and health, and the source of education for 41.5% consisted of the courses taken in their undergraduate program. Of the students, 23.1% did not wish to communicate with children with intellectual disability or their parents about sexual development, 76.9% felt inadequate in their communication with children and parents about sexual development, 46.2% felt they could identify deviations in sexual development in children with intellectual disability, and 81.5% believed that children with intellectual disability were more vulnerable to sexual abuse. The viewpoints of 4th-year students about sexual development of children with intellectual disability were more positive. Sexual development education should be included in the nursing undergraduate curriculum from the first year of the program.