Judging the Acceptability of Sexual Intercourse Among People with Learning Disabilities: French Laypeople’s Viewpoint

The importance of different situational factors that may alter acceptability judgments (i.e., gender, etiology of the disability, person’s present level of autonomy, use of contraceptive devices, and partner’s age and possible handicap) with regards to the sexuality of people with learning disability was examined. Participants were members of the community in France, aged 19–70. They were presented with several concrete cases in which a young person with a learning disability is having sexual intercourse. The participants’ main concerns were centered on the consequences of the sexual relationships, and not on the relationships per se. Relationships that could lead to procreation were judged not acceptable, even if the child could be cared for by a non-handicapped parent. They were judged moderately acceptable in the cases when the person is autonomous, the partner is of the same age and is also handicapped, and the relationship is a protected one.