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Same-sex relationships and women with intellectual disabilities
- Authors:
- BURNS Jan, DAVIES Danielle
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 24(4), July 2011, pp.351-360.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The sexual knowledge of people with mild intellectual disabilities has been found to be partial, inaccurate and inconsistent. Previous research has shown that people with intellectual disabilities have tended to hold negative or even blatantly homophobic attitudes towards homosexuality. Holding traditional beliefs about gender roles is predictive with holding negative attitudes towards homosexuality. The aim of this study was to examine attitudes towards homosexuality and gender role beliefs in a group of women with intellectual disabilities. The sample consisted of 27 women with a learning disability who described themselves as heterosexual. Three self-report measures were administered to measure their knowledge of homosexuality, attitudes towards homosexuality and gender role beliefs. The findings showed that the participants had limited knowledge, especially regarding lesbianism, and held prejudicial beliefs. Traditional gender beliefs were also identified and were associated strongly with more negative attitudes towards homosexuality. These findings suggest that education that focuses on the flexibility of gender roles may be beneficial, in addition to an emphasis on developing more positive attitudes towards homosexuality.