Sexuality is an inherent attribute of all human beings regardless of their race, religion and the level of physical fitness. The way it is perceived and manifested is determined by a number of biopsychosocial factors. In some people, including persons with cerebral palsy, the factors and their influence are rooted in the psychophysical condition of the human body. The aim of this study was to answer the question about how the levels of sexual esteem and sexual needs differentiate the sexual behaviors of young people with cerebral palsy. The study being presented was conducted with 62 young persons with cerebral palsy (half women and half men), who were selected using purposive sampling. They were aged 15–25 years and were individuals without cognitive difficulties. The research tool used was the Cerebral Palsy Individual’s Sexual Behavior Questionnaire developed by the authors. The findings of the study showed that half of the participants engaged in various sexual behaviors from the list that was presented to them. The frequencies of these engagements depended on the levels of their sexual esteem and sexual needs. Persons characterized by high levels of sexual esteem and sexual needs (much fewer than those with the low levels of both characteristics) engaged in sexual behaviors significantly more frequently. The most frequent among them was direct engagement in sexual activity (petting and sexual intercourse; p ≤ .001) and then exposure to sexually explicit magazines or films (p ≤ .05).

Sexuality is an important part of human existence, irrespective of race, religion or level of physical fitness. It can, however, be treated and exhibited by individuals in very different ways. The place of sexuality in a person's life, and in the way it is materialised, is determined by a number of biopsychosocial factors. For some, the presence of these factors and their influence is not a matter of choice. They may arise as a consequence of the psychophysical condition of their organism. People with motor disabilities undoubtedly belong to this group. participants and procedureThe study was carried out in Poland on a group of 61 people with roughly equal proportions of men and women. Subject selection was non-random; every subject was diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP) and was aged between 15 and 25. All of the subjects had normal levels of intelligence. Two methods were used in the study: Sexual Self-esteem Scale and Sexual Needs Scale. resultsThe results in terms of sexual self-esteem and sexual needs allowed two different subgroups of subjects to be distinguished (H -with high scores; L -with low scores). The analysis of significance levels of the differences in terms of sexual self-esteem and sexual needs between subgroups H and L confirmed the clear distinction between each of the subgroups' clinical pictures (p < .001) in 20 out of 21 of the analysed aspects. Falling in love was the only matter that did not differentiate the subgroups. conclusionsThere is a clear polarization of the results. Only 1/3 of the respondents had high sexual self-esteem and sexual needs. The remaining 2/3 reported having a rather low sexual self-esteem and low levels of needs with regards to their own sexuality. It needs to be stressed that CP-affected youth, similarly to their peers, may need support in discovering their sexuality and satisfying their sexual needs (2/3 of the respondents). The specifics of the range of support should take into account the aspects highlighted by the literature as associated with the causes of disability and contexts of psychosocial functioning of individuals with CP. key words cerebral palsy; disability; sexual behavior

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Osiągnięcie przez osobę dojrzałości do realizowania własnej seksualności wymaga od niej zintegrowania rozwoju w zakresie seksualności z rozwojem w pozostałych sferach. Taką integralność rozwoju znacząco naruszają objawy zaburzeń z autystycznego spektrum (ASD). Jeden z symptomów ASD stanowią nieprawidłowe reakcje na bodźce sensoryczne. Są one bezpośrednim skutkiem zaburzonego przebiegu procesów integracji sensorycznej. Nieprawidłowości w przebiegu tych procesów mogą w konsekwencji utrudniać osobie funkcjonowanie w relacjach społecznych i akceptację siebie, również w zakresie własnej seksualności. Dokonana analiza teorii integracji sensorycznej (Ayres, 2015) oraz wyników badań dotyczących seksualności osób z ASD uwidacznia istnienie poziomów wzajemnych zależności między przebiegiem procesów integracji zmysłowej a przeżywaniem przez osobę z ASD własnej seksualności. Pozwala także zauważyć obszary możliwych konsekwencji tych zależności dla poradnictwa w zakresie seksualności skierowanego do osób z ASD