Sexual behaviors of physically disabled adolescents in the United States.

PURPOSE: To examine differences in some aspects of sexual behavior between physically disabled and nondisabled adolescents in the United States.METHODS: The 1994-1995 Wave I data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a stratified, multistage cluster, school-based sample of 7th to 12th graders, were used. Physical disabilities were measured in terms of functional limitation and activity restriction. A total of 1153 adolescents were identified as physically disabled, mainly with limb difficulties. We studied their exposure on school sex education, contraceptive knowledge, sex attitudes, and popularity. Their experiences in romantic attraction and sex were analyzed by multinomial logistic regression methods, controlling for age, pubertal development, and other sociodemographic variables.RESULTS: Although disabled adolescents are slower in pubertal development and more socially isolated, they are as sexually experienced as their nondisabled counterparts. Their exposure to school sex education is largely similar to that of the nondisabled, yet disabled boys are somewhat less knowledgeable about birth control. Severely disabled boys who are sexually active are popular among their same-sex peers, much like nondisabled boys. Although disabled adolescents are as sexually experienced, severely disabled boys and girls have less opposite-sex romantic attraction and are less sure about their sexual preference. Adolescents with mild disabilities have a higher tendency for same-sex attraction than do the nondisabled. Adolescent girls with physical disabilities consistently have higher odds of experiencing forced sex.CONCLUSIONS: Physically disabled adolescents' sexual development and their specific needs for sex education and guidance should not be overlooked. More attention should be paid to protect physically disabled girls from sexual abuses and exploitations.     

Socio-demographic characteristics of the physically disabled in Canada.

The major purpose of this paper is to compare a large sample of physically disabled Canadians (N = 1,692) with a similar group of able-bodied persons on a set of socio-demographic characteristics. The data are obtained from the General Social Survey of 1985, and the findings are placed within a minority group status framework. A series of demographic, personal adjustment and economic variables are analyzed using both cross-tabular and logit statistical techniques. In general, the data show that the physically disabled are older, female, and more likely to be divorced, separated or widowed. Relative to the able-bodied, they are not satisfied with their health, jobs, economic circumstances, personal relationships, and life in general. The factors associated with dissatisfaction are likely to be primarily economic and personal. The data developed in this study provide evidence that the physically disabled in Canada are in fact a minority group who are disadvantaged and do not participate fully in the structure of Canadian society.     

Take-up of benefits by families with disabled children

The take-up of four cash benefits by families with disabled children is assessed using a national sample drawn from the 1970 birth cohort. The four benefits are invalid care allowance, attendance allowance, mobility allowance and the Family Fund. None of the few families in the sample who were eligible for the invalid care allowance knew about it or had claimed it, but none would have been better off if they had done so. Take-up of the attendance allowance was lower than previous studies have suggested; between a half and two-thirds of those who appeared to be eligible were receiving the attendance allowance. About 80% of those children who were eligible for the mobility allowance were receiving it. About 65% of those families who met the eligibility criteria of the Family Fund had received help.     

Coping of parents with physically and/or intellectually disabled children

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to clarify how families with physically and/or intellectually disabled children cope, what kind of coping strategies they use and how the families with good and poor coping capacities differ. METHODS: The parents of eight children (aged 8-10 years) with physical and/or intellectual disability were interviewed twice, and the data elicited in these interviews were analysed qualitatively using the grounded theory method. RESULTS: Information and acceptance, good family co-operation and social support were related to the coping strategies most frequently used. Half of the families seemed to have found successful ways of coping, whereas another half had major problems. There were five main domains in which the high- and low-coping families differed most from each other: (1) parents' initial experiences; (2) personal characteristics; (3) effects of the child's disability on family life; (4) acting in everyday life; and (5) social support. CONCLUSION: The findings can be utilized in developing supportive activities for families with disabled children. By recognizing the coping strategies used by the family, professionals and service providers can find the right ways to support their adaptation. As the role of physicians, nursing staff and other professionals in this process is very important, more attention should be attached to the collaboration between these groups, to enable them to view the situation from the perspective of the whole family.     

Group treatment of physically disabled adults by telephone

Physical disability threatens a person's life style and can be detrimental in its effects on mood and activity. We describe a counseling program for severely disabled persons who were involved in telephone support groups in order to solve problems related to feeling discouraged, lonely, or being too inactive to remain healthy. A majority of the participants reported being less anxious and more socially involved as a result of the intervention. Ease with which groups were conducted and positive feedback from participants suggests that research should evaluate the cost effectiveness of phone intervention and explore potential of treating affective problems with scheduled phone contact.     

Research into the lifeworld of physically disabled children

Summary This article presents a phenomenological study of the experiences of physically disabled children. The research focuses on elementary school aged children not suffering from additional intellectual disability. In previous research we noticed just how often the children we observed are considered and discussed from the point of view of professional expertise. There is, for instance, the medical account of the disorder, the paramedical view concerning the treatment of the physical limitations and the educational and psychological approach to learning disabilities. Our research aims to highlight the perspective of the disabled child him- or herself. We let the children speak for themselves on their three 'favourite' subjects: on their bodies, on friends and on parents and experts.     

Social integration of the physically disabled in Barbados

An emergent concern with the rehabilitation and social integration of disabled people in developing nations has created a need to identify cultural beliefs and behaviors which may affect the integration of the disabled into normative social roles. The focus of this study is the social integration of physically disabled adults among the nonelite, colored population of Barbados, West Indies. This paper analyses the role participation of 30 physically disabled adults within the context of Barbadian beliefs and behaviors related to the disabled and to the 'normal' adult. Although village Barbadians do not expect the physically disabled to fulfill normative adult roles, some disabled individuals in this study do perform adult activities, such as maintaining employment and engaging in sexual relationships. However, very few of them participate in the reciprocal relationships among peers and neighbors through which village Barbadians achieve status and 'respect' as adults.     

Responsibility of families for their severely disabled elders.

In the past 13 years, total expenditures for nursing home care under the Medicaid program have increased drastically. They show no signs of abating. Government, therefore, has become aware of the need to control this rapid increase. Families, who currently provide a large amount of informal, long-term care for their disabled elderly, are seen as a potential resource to maintain people in the community. Although demographic elements appear to mitigate against increased family responsibility, governmental incentives may be able to reverse the trend. While demographic variables cannot be modified by public policies, programs can be developed to modify family situations, increasing family capacity--and willingness--to care for disabled, elderly adults.     

Predictors of burden in mothers of physically disabled children

The impact a physically disabled child has on the family, particularly the impact of the child on the mother's burden, is a relatively unexplored area of study in the literature. The purpose of the present study was to identify which factors are significantly associated with the burden perceived by mothers of a disabled child. Seventy-four mothers who had a child with a physical disability, living in Québec, Canada, completed four self-administered questionnaires which examined certain characteristics of the mother, the child and the environment in relation to burden. The statistical analysis of the data revealed four predictors of burden in mothers of a physically disabled child: the amount of time the mother spent on caregiving, the secondary health problems of the child, the number of years of marriage and the mother's use of specific coping strategies. The findings are discussed in terms of their clinical implications for occupational therapists and recommendations for future studies are proposed.     

Housing circumstances and standards of families with disabled children

Research on the impact of a disabled child on family resources suggests that housing standards are likely to be lower for these families than for other families. This article attempts to assess the extent to which this is actually the case. The article employs data from a nationally representative sample of disabled children and compares their housing standards according to five criteria with those of a control sample. Families with disabled children were found to be significantly more likely than control families to be living in local authority housing, more likely to be living in overcrowded accommodation and less likely to have central heating and certain consumer durables in the household.     

The physically disabled — An international audit of

A qualitative and quantitative audit of British housing policies and concepts is undertaken. An analysis of similar policies in Sweden, Canada and the Netherlands is also offered.     

Towards an understanding of British public attitudes concerning human cloning

The ability of scientists to apply cloning technology to humans has provoked public discussion and media coverage. The present paper reports on a series of studies examining public attitudes to human cloning in the UK, bringing together a range of quantitative and qualitative methods to address this question. These included a nationally representative survey, an experimental vignette study, focus groups and analyses of media coverage. Overall the research presents a complex picture of attitude to and constructions of human cloning. In all of the analyses, therapeutic cloning was viewed more favourably than reproductive cloning. However, while participants in the focus groups were generally negative about both forms of cloning, and this was also reflected in the media analyses, quantitative results showed more positive responses. In the quantitative research, therapeutic cloning was generally accepted when the benefits of such procedures were clear, and although reproductive cloning was less accepted there was still substantial support. Participants in the focus groups only differentiated between therapeutic and reproductive cloning after the issue of therapeutic cloning was explicitly raised; initially they saw cloning as being reproductive cloning and saw no real benefits. Attitudes were shown to be associated with underlying values associated with scientific progress rather than with age, gender or education, and although there were a few differences in the quantitative data based on religious affiliation, these tended to be small effects. Likewise in the focus groups there was little direct appeal to religion, but the main themes were 'interfering with nature' and the 'status of the embryo', with the latter being used more effectively to try to close down further discussion. In general there was a close correspondence between the media analysis and focus group responses, possibly demonstrating the importance of media as a resource, or that the media reflect public discourse accurately. However, focus group responses did not simply reflect media coverage.