Sexual Health Experiences Among High School Students With Disabilities

Healthy and Respectful Relationship Education: Differences by Disability Status and Associations With Sexual Abuse

“…A large proportion of students with disabilities in our study reported experiences of sexual abuse, which is consistent with prior research 2,5,35 . We found that receiving HRR education was associated with lower levels of abuse among students with and without disabilities.…”

“…A large proportion of students with disabilities in our study reported experiences of sexual abuse, which is consistent with prior research. 2,5,35 We found that receiving HRR education was associated with lower levels of abuse among students with and without disabilities. The difference in prevalence of sexual abuse between students who had received HRR and those who had not was greater among students with disabilities.…”

“…Our unadjusted analyses suggest that individuals with more significant disabilities (difficulty with selfcare and/or independent living activities) have the lowest prevalence of healthy relationship education, and previous research has found that this group is also more likely to experience abuse. 2 The association between HRR education and abuse may be different in this subgroup, but our numbers were too small to conduct separate multivariate analyses by disability subgroup. In addition, although we controlled for race and ethnicity and sexual orientation in our multivariate models, due to small numbers we were unable to assess differences between subcategories within the ''non-Hispanic Other Race'' and ''nonheterosexual'' categories.…”

“…Youth with disabilities—including those affecting sensory, physical, and/or cognitive functioning—are more likely to experience sexual abuse and assault than their peers without disabilities 1‐5 . While much of this abuse is perpetuated by adults, youth with disabilities are also more likely than youth without disabilities to experience physical and sexual violence in the context of romantic relationships 2,6 . Researchers have postulated that a lack of sexual education—and, in particular, education about healthy and equitable relationships—exacerbates the problem by leaving youth with disabilities unprepared to recognize abuse and seek help 7‐10 …”

“…8,9,17,18,20 In actuality, youth with disabilities are at least as likely to have had intercourse as their peers without disabilities, and are more likely to have intercourse before age 14. 2 Thus, sexual health education is clearly needed. However, sexual health education in schools is not tailored to students with disabilities, and most states do not require sexual health education curricula for individuals with disabilities.…”