Attitudes toward the sexuality of persons with physical versus psychiatric disabilities.
OBJECTIVE
Research has shown that attitudes toward different disabilities form a hierarchy, with observers exhibiting more positive attitudes toward persons with physical disabilities than toward persons with psychiatric disabilities. In addition, investigations of attitudes toward persons with a disability indicate that they are often perceived as asexual. The current study examined whether involvement of persons with either a physical or psychiatric disability in a sexual relationship moderates the relation between their type of disability and attitudes toward them.


METHODS
After reading one of six randomly assigned vignettes, university students (N = 195) filled out a semantic differential-based attitude scale (Katz & Shurka, 1977; Kravetz, Katz, & Albez, 1994). The six vignettes consisted of a male with a physical disability/with a psychiatric disability/without a disability, who was either involved/not involved in a sexual relationship.


RESULTS
An interaction between type of disability and involvement in a sexual relationship was found for two subscales of the attitudes scale, occupation and intelligence. Involvement in a sexual relationship was found to generate more positive attitudes when the target person had a physical disability but more negative attitudes when he had a psychiatric disability.


CONCLUSIONS
Involvement in a sexual relationship seems to work in favor of persons with a physical disability because of the association of such a relationship with normality and adaptation. However, attributing such a relationship to persons with a psychiatric disability seems to be stigmatic.
Department of Psychology.
Ilanit
I
Hasson-Ohayon
Department of Psychology.
Ifat
I
Hertz
Department of Psychology.
Noa
N
Vilchinsky
Department of Psychology.
Shlomo
S
Kravetz
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D019529:Sexuality / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires