“It Is Only Natural….”: Attitudes of Young People With Intellectual Disabilities Toward Sexuality in Greece

ABSTRACT

Although there is an increasing awareness of the rights of people with intellectual disabilities, limited progress has been made in supporting people with intellectual disabilities to create and sustain intimate personal relationships in Greece. This article looks at the attitudes of 66 adolescents and young adults with intellectual disabilities toward sexuality. Selection of the sample was based on place of residence, participant’s age, and his/her degree of disability. Three Greek towns were chosen to provide the population for the study because they represented characteristics of contemporary Greece. Participants’ comments regarding a variety of sexual issues were examined through content thematic analysis. The above procedure led to five themes: sexuality as perogative, being ethical about sexuality, sexuality creating concerns, sexuality generating emotions, and talking about sexuality as informative. Findings revealed awareness of rights to sexual expression, protection, and enjoyment, but also of consequences when not following the social or legal rules. Analysis indicated issues of morality along with positive feelings toward intimate relationships like love, companionship, and mutual understanding. Finally, although participants expressed some uneasiness to talk about sexuality in general, there was great interest in getting appropriate knowledge and being prepared for the future.

KEYWORDS:

• Attitudes
• content analysis
• Greece
• intellectual disabilities
• sexuality