Parental Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Sexuality and Sex-Education of Their Children with Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

This study examined parents’ knowledge and attitudes about sexuality and sex education of their children with developmental disabilities (DD) in the Accra Metropolis of Ghana. Using a descriptive cross-sectional design, 46 conveniently sampled parents of children with DD responded to an online survey on knowledge of their children’s sexuality and their attitudes towards sex education. Findings from univariate analysis revealed that about 67% of parents have not given any form of sexual education to their children. However, 65% of parents in this study had good general knowledge about the sexuality of their children except for experiential topics (i.e., sexual feelings and experiences, including their sexual orientation (heterosexual/ gays and lesbians), and masturbation, but were generally positive about views of sex education for their children. Majority of the parents (82.6%) had not received any training on how to educate their children on sexuality matters to support and empower themselves and their children. These findings indicate that Ghanaian families rarely provide sex education for their children with DD, however, they perceive sex education as a positive and protective strategy for the reproductive and sexual health of their children with DD. Implications for the development of training programs that provides appropriate knowledge and skills related to sexual health are discussed.