The effectiveness of a sex education program facilitating social skills for people with intellectual disability in Japan

Résumé de l'auteur

[Authors' abstract]

Background Sex education should include social skills, such as those that allow individuals to relate, socialise, andcommunicate with others, to assist people with intellectual disability (ID) to live life fully in the community.Objectives We administered and investigated the effects of a program involving 8 interactive sex education sessions thatwere aimed at improving the social skills of people with ID.Methods Participants were 17 people with ID and 17 control group participants in Japan. The evaluation was conductedwith a questionnaire based on KiSS-18 (Kikuchi’s Scale of Social Skills: 18 items; Kikuchi, 2007).Results The score of KiSS-18 in the experimental group was 55.4 + 12.9 before the administration of the program, ascompared to a mean of 61.8 + 13.2 after the program. A significant increase was identified. There was no significantdifference between the first and second average score in the control group.Conclusion The sex education program involving social skills training for people with ID had significant effects.

Commentaire du Centre Ressources

The document is an article extracted from a Japanese research on the effects of a sexuality education programs for people with intellectual disabilities in Japan. Education sessions were conducted, and then the assimilation of knowledge by the public was questioned. For these sessions, two groups of people having intellectual disabilities were mobilized. The authors convey three results, after having underlined a lack of effect of the sessions on the control group, the one in which people had the most independent lifestyle. The results developed by the authors are more about the framework of the inquiry and its effects than the content the of the sessions. For instance, having volunteers who are not disabled to run the sessions was positively perceived, the authors consider that it has allowed to increase the skills of the participants in terms of communication. The document could be useful to researchers, educators, trainers willing to work on a sexuality education program for people with intellectual disabilities.   

[Commentaire en français]

Le document est un article issu d’une recherche japonaise sur les effets d’un programme d’éducation à la sexualité pour des personnes ayant une déficience intellectuelle au Japon. Des sessions d’éducation furent réalisées, puis l’assimilation des connaissances par le public fut interrogée. Deux groupes de personnes ayant une déficience intellectuelle furent mobilisés pour ces sessions. Les auteurs relèvent trois résultats, après avoir souligné un manque d’effet des sessions sur le groupe contrôle, celui où les personnes avaient le mode de vie le plus indépendant. Les résultats développés par les auteurs relèvent davantage du cadre de l’enquête et de ses effets que du contenu intériorisé des sessions. Par exemple, la présence de volontaires (sans déficience) pour animer les sessions fut perçue positivement, les auteurs considèrent qu’elle a permis d’accroître les compétences des participants en matière de communication. Le document pourra être utile aux chercheurs, éducateurs, formateurs souhaitant travailler sur un programme d’éducation à la sexualité des personnes ayant une déficience intellectuelle.