A program for modifying sexual behavior in the retarded

A questionnaire on sexual attitudes was distributed\ud to staff members at three residential facilities for the\ud mentally retarded in a major urban area of Southern California.\ud The three facilities employed 91 women and 26 men,\ud ranging in age from 19 to 65 years. Results indicated\ud that staff members were generally conservative in what\ud they considered to be acceptable sexual behavior on the\ud part of residents and that staff are most opposed to\ud sexual behavior occurring in public. Based on the results\ud a program was developed which includes: (1) a discussion\ud of how the retarded learn sexual behavior; (2) techniques\ud for modifying inappropriate sexual behavior in the retarded;\ud (3) methods for changing staff attitudes toward the socio-sexual development of the retarded; and (4) an annotated\ud bibliography of sex education material for the retarded