title: Staff attitudes and reactions towards residents' masturbation in Spanish long-term care facilities.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore staff attitudes and reactions towards masturbation in long-term care facilities.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Staff attitudes and reactions towards the expression of sexuality in long-term care facilities may be influenced by the nature of the sexual behaviour being expressed. Staff attitudes towards masturbation, a common sexual behaviour in such settings, have gone largely unexplored so far.
  
  
  METHODS
  An exploratory, descriptive, qualitative research design.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-three staff members working in five different long-term care facilities participated in the study. They were asked about what they would think, how they would react, and what possible reactions they might expect from workmates if they entered a room and found a resident masturbating.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority of participants considered that masturbation was acceptable and avoiding interference was by far the most common reaction, although other reactions also arose. When asked about reactions attributed to workmates, mentions to reprimanding the resident and gossiping/joking about the issue were more frequent than acceptance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The discrepancy between professionals' own reported attitudes and those attributed to workmates suggests the existence of widespread negative reactions towards sexual activity in later life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the light of these results, we underline the necessity of developing explicit policies regarding sexual issues. Formal training offered to staff would also help to recognise and preserve resident's sexual rights and needs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Feliciano
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Villar
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3377-681X
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Serrat
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Celdrán
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fabà
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D008418:Masturbation / Q000523:psychology*; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D012866:Skilled Nursing Facilities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: long-term care facilities; masturbation; older age; sexuality; staff reactions