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Characteristics and Prevalence of Lifetime Sexual Victimization Among a Sample of Men and Women with Intellectual Disabilities
- Source :
- Journal of interpersonal violence. 37(15-16)
- Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- This study examines the prevalence and characteristics of sexual victimization experiences suffered by people with intellectual disabilities (ID). The sample consisted of 260 adults with an ID diagnosis (154 men and 106 women), ranging in age from 20 to 71 years (M = 41.69, SD = 12.05). The results showed that 35% of the sample had been sexually victimized at some point in their life. Being a woman, being declared legally incapable, and having comorbid mental health diagnoses were the most relevant characteristics of sexual victims with ID. Fondling was the most reported victimization, and rape showed the greatest gender differences, with a higher risk for women with ID of being raped compared to their male counterparts (odds ratio = 4.28, p < .05). The offender was generally a known male adult, and the percentage of incidents reported to the authorities was very low (7.4%). The psychological consequences of abuse were general distress, anxiety, and depressive symptomatology. Intervention and prevention programs targeting this population, as well as the training of professionals and caregivers, are essential to deal with sexual victimization and to protect and ensure the quality of life of people with ID.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
Sexual Behavior
education
Sample (statistics)
Young Adult
Intellectual Disability
Intellectual disability
medicine
Prevalence
Humans
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
Applied Psychology
Crime Victims
Aged
050901 criminology
05 social sciences
social sciences
Middle Aged
medicine.disease
Clinical Psychology
Sexual abuse
Quality of Life
Female
0509 other social sciences
Psychology
050104 developmental & child psychology
Clinical psychology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15526518
- Volume :
- 37
- Issue :
- 15-16
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of interpersonal violence
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....6d5ff00219ee1a856941f722f80c6426