Department of Family Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia.
School of Dental Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 13;19(12):7249. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127249.
Sex education (SE) is still a controversial and sensitive topic in Malaysia. Thus, individuals with intellectual disability receive less information about SE formally as Malaysian culture believes that students with disabilities should be shielded from everything connected to sexuality owing to their paucity of maturity and intellectual comprehension of the topic. Due to that reason, non-formal education by the parent is very important to fill that needful gap. This study aimed to explore the experience of mothers on the meanings of sexuality, and implementing sex education for their children with ID. We adopted a phenomenological framework and social cognitive theory to increase understanding of the phenomenon and conducted it using in-depth interviews. Twenty mothers with children aged 10-19 who were diagnosed with mild to moderate ID and/or other cognitive disabilities were involved. Almost all mothers acknowledged the influence of socio-cultural factors and religion on meanings of sexuality and practicing SE. They realized their children's emerging sexual behavior as they go through the adolescence period. However, how they confronted sexuality and sex education with their vulnerable children was different. Three themes emerged: (1) Sexuality as an erotic experience in life, which enlightens mothers' views on sexuality, relying mainly on sexual intimacy and sexual being; (2) Perceived their children's sexual maturity is different, which reflects the mothers' attitude toward their children's sexual development; (3) Caution/hesitance in providing sexuality education, which summarizes mothers' ways of delivering SE, either following physicality or through sociocultural ways. Our findings exemplify the need for strategies to increase parents' understanding and awareness regarding sexuality and appropriate delivery of SE. To ensure its success, it should be a shared responsibility among all relevant stakeholders.
性教育（SE）在马来西亚仍然是一个有争议和敏感的话题。因此，智力残疾个体在正式接受性教育方面获得的信息较少，因为马来西亚文化认为残疾学生由于成熟度和对该主题的智力理解不足，应该避免接触一切与性有关的事物。由于这个原因，家长的非正规教育对于填补这一必要的空白非常重要。本研究旨在探讨母亲们对性意义的理解，以及为他们有智力障碍的孩子实施性教育的经验。我们采用了现象学框架和社会认知理论来加深对这一现象的理解，并通过深入访谈进行了研究。共有 20 名母亲参与了研究，她们的孩子年龄在 10-19 岁之间，被诊断为轻度至中度智力障碍和/或其他认知障碍。几乎所有的母亲都承认社会文化因素和宗教对性意义和实施性教育的影响。随着孩子进入青春期，她们意识到了孩子正在出现的性行为。然而，她们如何面对自己脆弱的孩子的性问题和性教育是不同的。三个主题出现了：（1）性作为生活中的一种色情体验，这启发了母亲对性的看法，主要依赖于性亲密和性存在；（2）对孩子的性成熟度有不同的看法，这反映了母亲对孩子性发展的态度；（3）在提供性教育时的谨慎/犹豫，这总结了母亲传授性教育的方式，要么遵循身体，要么通过社会文化方式。我们的发现表明，需要制定策略来提高家长对性和适当实施性教育的理解和认识。为了确保其成功，这应该是所有相关利益攸关方的共同责任。
