| The primary purpose of this study was to identify factors which contribute to persons with early-onset physical disabilities developing positive sexual self-views. In particular this study explored the contribution of two factors, age and sense of coherence (SOC), to the development of positive sexual self-views. The sexual-esteem, sexual-depression, and sense of coherence scores of 76 persons with early-onset physical disabilities and 92 persons without disabilities were examined. Participants ranged in age from 18-45.;Based on past literature and research it was hypothesized that persons with early-onset disabilities would, overall, report lower levels of sexual-esteem and higher levels of sexual-depression than their able-bodied peers, but that the differences would decrease with age. Additionally, it was hypothesized that SOC would be a better predictor of both sexual-esteem and sexual-depression than either age or disability status (whether or not a person had a disability).;As predicted, persons with early-onset disabilities reported lower sexual-esteem and higher sexual-depression than persons without disabilities. The hypothesis that the differences between persons with and without disabilities on sexual-esteem and sexual-depression would decrease over time (age) was not able to be tested because no age effects were found. Neither sexual-esteem nor sexual-depression was found to vary with age, for either persons with or without disabilities. There were no differences in SOC scores between groups. Additionally, results from multiple regression analysis suggest that SOC is a better predictor of sexual-esteem and sexual-depression than either age or disability status for both groups. This finding supports the hypothesis that SOC is an important factor to consider when examining the sexual health and happiness of persons both with and without early-onset physical disabilities. All the findings from the study are discussed in terms of clinical implications, limitations, and directions for future research. |
