Path analysis of parents' conservatism toward sex education of their mentally retarded children.
The authors investigated three probable reasons why parents of mentally retarded children would be opposed to sex education being offered as a school subject: general sexual attitudes, specific sexual attitudes, and prejudices against the retarded child's own sexuality. A questionnnaire was given to 60 parents of retarded children and 62 parents of nonretarded children. A correlation analysis revealed evidence of all three kinds of reasons and led to a causal model of conservatism on sex education. A path analysis revealed that (a) sexual prejudices are a major obstacle to sex education, and (b) each group of parents represents a specific dynamic of conservatism on sex education. Means of pedagogical intervention to modify parents' attitudes toward sex education of handicapped children were discussed.
D001290:Attitude; D004495:Education of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D011287:Prejudice; D012071:Religion and Sex; D012736:Sex Education