Communication on Sexuality Between Parents and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

The objective of this systematic review was to identify and analyze the information available on sexual communication between parents and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Medline/PubMed, Lilacs, Ebsco, Embase, Scielo, Google Scholar, Scirus and Redalyc databases were used to find articles. The inclusion criteria were studies published in indexed databases in English, Spanish and Portuguese with a quantitative and qualitative approach in full text, studies that include a population of parents of adolescents with ASD and adolescents between 10 and 19 years of age with a diagnosis of ASD, and studies that covered communication about sexuality. Keywords combined with Boolean operators were used. Three topics were identified that covered the communication of parents and adolescents with ASD: sexual issues, parents' romantic expectations, and sexual experiences. This systematic review highlights the need for training of health professionals and sex education programs for parents of adolescents with ASD.

     

The effect of an Internet-based intervention designed to reduce HIV/AIDS sexual risk among Mexican adolescents

Introduction: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of an Internet-based intervention to reduce sexual risk behaviors and increase resilience to sexual risk behaviors among Mexican adolescents, a key HIV/AIDS risk group. Methodology: The study had a quasi-experimental design with single-stage cluster sampling. Participants ages 14–17 were stratified by gender and randomly assigned to either receive intervention “Connect” (which included face-to-face and Internet-based sessions designed to reduce sexual risk behaviors and increase resilience to sexual risk) or control (a general educational video on reducing health risks). A total of 9 survey instruments were administered online through SurveyMonkey pre- and post-intervention to assess changes in sexual risk and protective factors as well as two outcomes of interest: risky sexual behaviors and resilience. Pearson correlation assessed instrument reliability while multivariable linear regression models assessed two study hypotheses: (1) the effect of the intervention on sexual behavior and resilience is mediated by adolescent age, gender, and sexual experience and (2) risk and protective factors are mediators between the intervention and sexual behavior. Results: The sample was composed of 193 adolescents between 14 and 17 years old (n?=?96 in the control group and n?=?97 in the experimental group). Survey instruments were reliable. Age was associated with pre-to-post test changes in sexual resilience (β?=??6.10, p?=?.019), which partially mediated the effect of the intervention on sexual resilience (β?=?5.70, p?=?.034). Social support was associated with pre-to-post test changes in risky sexual behavior (β?=??0.17, p?=?.039). Conclusion: Intervention “Connect” was independently associated with improved self-reported resilience to risky sexual behaviors, though not with a reduction in those behaviors in multivariate analyses. This is the first Internet-based intervention designed to reduce HIV/AIDS sexual risk among Mexican adolescents.