Variations in the timing of first sexual experiences among populations with physical disabilities in the United States

Abstract

Background Timing of first sex has important implications for later sexual health, but little research has considered this in populations with physical disabilities. Objective/Hypothesis The purpose of this paper was to examine timing of sexual experiences among populations with physical disabilities in the United States from adolescence to early adulthood, and how timing varies by biological sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. We hypothesized that those with physical disabilities would exhibit earlier initiation of each type of sexual activity compared to those without disabilities, but the degree of differences would depend on disability severity. We further hypothesized that these associations would be moderated by biological sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Methods Data were from 13,458 respondents to Waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Cox proportional hazards models assessed differences in timing of vaginal, oral, anal, and first sex by disability severity. Results Populations with the most severe physical disabilities had a significantly slower progression to first vaginal sex, oral sex, and their first sexual experience compared to those without disabilities (aHR: 0.74–0.77). Timing also differed by biological sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation, though the direction and degree of these differences varied by disability severity. Conclusions Results fill an important gap in the literature by considering variations in sexual timing among populations with physical disabilities using a longitudinal, nationally representative sample. Future research should continue to promote inclusion of populations with disabilities to inform future policies and programs for healthy sexual development.

Sexual Behaviors and Sexual Perceptions of Portuguese Adults with Physical Disabilities

“…Regarding sexual behaviors, kissing, touching, and caressing, receiving stimulation of erogenous zones and performing oral sex were the most frequently reported sexual activities by participants. This finding is supported by the results of earlier studies [29][30][31], which indicated that people with physical disabilities have significantly lower odds of partaking in sexual activities that involve penetration and greater chances of not engaging in sex, at all. Nevertheless, the vast majority of those who reported not having sex stated that this was because of a lack of opportunity or lack of a partner.…”

Minor sex trafficking of girls with disabilities

“…The increased vulnerability of minors with disabilities to minor sex trafficking fits within the broader context of research on the cycle of child disability and maltreatment, which depicts children with disabilities as more vulnerable to experience various forms of maltreatment. Other literature has shown that children with various forms of disabilities have higher risk of experiencing abuse and neglect in general, including sexual abuse, can experience more severe offenses of sexual abuse, and have higher incidence of maltreatment that resulted in serious harm (Haydon et al, 2011;Hershkowitz et al, 2007;Kahn et al, 2019;Schenkel et al, 2014;Sedlak et al, 2010).…”

“…Physical disability. Physical disabilities were assessed using the physical disability index (PDI) developed by Cheng and Udry (2002) using data from the Wave I survey, a measure that has been used successfully in other research studies (Haydon et al, 2011;Kahn et al, 2019). During in-home interviews with adolescents and parents, physical disabilities were identified via a series of questions on blindness, deafness and long term/permanent difficulties using hands, arms, legs or feet.…”

“…PDI severity scores were created for both the adolescent and parent interviews, assigning one point for each of the following: having limb difficulties; using medical equipment; needing assistive care; perceiving or believing others perceived the adolescent to have a disability; difficulty walking, standing, extending, grasping or holding items; and having more than three body parts affected (parent interview only). The higher of the two scores (adolescent or parent) was selected, and then the conditions of whether the respondent was blind and deaf were incorporated using scoring methods from Kahn et al (2019). The final physical disability severity measure consisted of a score ranging from 0 to 3, indicating no physical disability, mild physical disability, moderate physical disability or severe physical disability.…”

Sexual Health Experiences Among High School Students With Disabilities

“…Conversely, individuals identified as having "low cognitive abilities" appeared less likely to be sexually active during adolescence or early adulthood compared with peers with average cognitive abilities [6,7]. Evidence on the timing of first sexual contact has been mixed, with some studies finding no difference between individuals with mild to moderate disabilities and those with no disabilities [8,9], while others have reported a higher prevalence of early sexual intercourse among youth with disabilities [10,11]. Among teens who are sexually active, those with disabilities may be more likely to have multiple sexual partners or have condomless sex than youth without disabilities [5,6], but more current research is needed in this area.…”