Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Quality of Life and Sexuality among People with Mental and Physical Disabilities in the Italian Context

M. Garro, A. Merenda, A. Salerno

Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science · pp. 1–9 · Published 30 Mar 2016

10.9734/BJESBS/2016/24984

Abstract

Aim: The article analyses sexuality and quality of life among people with mental and physical disabilities in the Italian context. It is aimed at contributing to a social debate over the sexual assistant for disabled people, as this professional is not still present in Italy. The aim of this paper is therefore to reflect on the consequences of the negative attitudes towards sexual life in disabled people, as well as for their families and community. In the collective unconscious, people with physical or mental disabilities are considered unable to live a healthy sexuality. This representation contributes to the spread of false attributions and prejudices. These characteristics may also be found inside the familiar context and its parental, educational style that appears so overprotective of the disabled child, in an attempt to relieve him of any social comparisons. Conclusion: The article was aimed at encouraging a social and political debate towards the introduction of a sexual assistant in Italy where, this professional still not has an institutional recognition. Disabled people’s sexual needs and desires cannot longer be ignored. A long pathway should be undertaken to promote their well-being, towards a dynamic process of change aimed at improving the quality of life of disabled people, their family and community as well.

Quality of life sexuality disability Italian context.

References (27)

  1. 1 Prevalence and risk of violence against children with disabilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies [DOI]
  2. 2 Prevalence and risk of violence against adults with disabilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies [DOI]
  3. 3 Women With Disabilities’ Experience With Physical and Sexual Abuse [DOI]
  4. 4 Sex and Disability [DOI]
  5. 5 Disability, space and sexuality: access to family planning services [DOI]
  6. 6 Prevalence of Sexual Dysfunctions Among Women with Multiple Sclerosis [DOI]
  7. 7 The Sexuality of Adults with Intellectual Disability in Poland [DOI]
  8. 8 Partner relationships, functioning, mood and global quality of life in persons with spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury [DOI]
  9. 9 Sexual Identity, Body Image and Life Satisfaction Among Women With and Without Physical Disability [DOI]
  10. 10 National study of physical and sexual assault among women with disabilities [DOI]
  11. 11 Rehabilitation of intimacy and sexual dysfunction in couples with multiple sclerosis [DOI]
  12. 12 The Impact of Sexual Esteem, Body Esteem, and Sexual Satisfaction on Psychological Well-Being in People with Physical Disability [DOI]
  13. 13 SEXUALITY AND THE ADOLESCENT WITH A PHYSICAL DISABILITY: Understandings and Misunderstandings [DOI]
  14. 14 Public stigma and the perception of rights: Differences between intellectual and physical disabilities [DOI]
  15. 15 Why Has So Little Progress Been Made in the Practice of Occupational Therapy in Relation to Sexuality? [DOI]
  16. 16 Experiences of staff in dealing with client sexuality in services for teenagers and adults with intellectual disability [DOI]
  17. 17 Experiences of staff in dealing with client sexuality in services for teenagers and adults with intellectual disability [DOI]
  18. 18 Sexual Desire in Couples Living with Chronic Medical Conditions [DOI]
  19. 19 Sexuality and Disability: The Role of Health Care Professionals in Providing Options and Alternatives for Couples [DOI]
  20. 20 Marriage rates among persons with spinal cord injury. [DOI]
  21. 21 Splitting the difference: An exploratory study of therapists' work with sexuality, relationships and disability [DOI]
  22. 22 Famiglia e disabilità
  23. 23 The Sexuality and Disability Unit: Applications for Group Training [DOI]
  24. 24 Disabilità, immaginazione e cittadinanza sessuale
  25. 25 The pulsional defusion and destinations of sexuality beyond genitality
  26. 26 Comunicazione, linguaggio e modelli culturali nell'era della globalizzazione
  27. 27 Journal of Intellectual Disability Research [DOI]

Cited by 0

No indexed citations yet.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

37

Page views

0

PDF downloads

5

Outbound clicks

0

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.