Psychosexual Education Interventions for Autistic Youth and Adults—A Systematic Review

Datos Bibliográficos

ID22048874
AutoresBeatrice Ragaglia (0000-0002-1518-5162, University of Turin), Marcella Caputi (0000-0002-8041-5278, University of Trieste), Daniela Bulgarelli (0000-0001-5671-3841, University of Turin, autor de correspondencia)
Año2023
Volumen13
Número3
Páginas224
Fecha de publicación2023-02-21
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaEducation Sciences (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2227-7102 • E-ISSN: 2227-7102
EditorialMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/educsci13030224
OpenAlexW4321497351
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas42

(1) Background: The literature shows a general lack of sexual knowledge and appropriate sexual health education in persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Moreover, the existing interventions mainly target the neurotypical population, without addressing the specific needs of individuals with ASD. (2) Aims: The current systematic review aimed at analyzing the literature encompassing psycho-educational interventions on sexuality addressed exclusively to people with ASD, in order to report the good practices and to describe the effectiveness of the existing programs. (3) Methods: The systematic review followed the PRISMA-P method. The literature search was conducted in June 2022, examining PsycInfo, PsycArticle, PubMed, and Education Source. The search strategy generated 550 articles, of which 22 duplicates were removed, 510 papers were excluded for not matching the criteria, and 18 articles were finally included. (4) Results: Ten papers presented good practices and eight focused on intervention validation. The analysis showed that the good practices were essentially applied in the intervention studies. No intervention proved to be successful both in increasing psychosexual knowledge and in promoting appropriate sexual behaviors; thus, further research is needed. (5) Conclusions: The current review allows for critical reflection on the need for validated sexuality interventions

Autism · Autism spectrum disorder · Developmental psychology · Human sexuality · MEDLINE · Neurotypical · Population · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Psychosexual development · PsycINFO · Systematic review · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research · Child Development and Digital Technology · Clinical Psychology · Family and Disability Support Research · Medicine · Psychology