Program evaluation of a sex education curriculum for women with mental retardation.

The effectiveness of a sexual education and health promotion program for 252 women with mental retardation was analyzed using an evaluation model. We used confirmatory factor analysis (LISREL) to explain the pathways of learning and related the number of instructional contacts with the outcomes. Three factors (hygiene, social interaction, and sexual experience) affected sexual knowledge directly. An increase in sexual knowledge was directly associated with a greater number of instructional contacts. The analysis indicates that our program is effective and adds to our understanding of factors contributing to sexual knowledge for adults with mental retardation.