"We Don't Do That At School": School Psychologists' Reports of Inappropriate Sexual Behavior By Students With Developmental Disabilities At School

Abstract

The reported occurrence of inappropriate sexual behaviors (ISBs) at school by students with developmental disabilities was examined. A questionnaire and an attitude scale were designed to assess the occurrence of these behaviors at school. Participants were practicing school psychologists from nine different states. The participants first identified students with developmental disabilities on their caseloads that engaged in ISBs at school. Descriptive statistics on the reported ISBs by student demographic data are presented. The total behaviors each student engaged in were summed to create a behavior composite score. ANOVAs were conducted to determine relationships between demographic data and the behavior composite score. There was no relationship between student gender, grade level, or special education exceptionality and the number of ISBs a student engaged in. A 20-item attitude scale was factor analyzed using maximum likelihood extraction with promax rotation. Two factors, Comfort with Managing ISBs and Attitude Toward Sexuality and Sex Education, were identified. An attitude score was created for each participant. The participants’ scores on the attitude scale items were summed to create the attitude score. The participants’ attitude scores and demographic variables were analyzed using ANOVA and linear regression. There was no relationship between participants’ gender, race, and level education on overall attitude toward managing ISBs. There were two significant relationships. The first relationship was between receiving training on ISBs and attitude. The second relationship was between participants’ years of experience and attitude. Linear regression showed a positive relationship between years of experience and attitude toward managing ISBs. Implications for research and practice as well as study limitations are also discussed.