Sexual knowledge and attitudes of institutionalized and noninstitutionalized retarded adolescents

Sixty-one noninstitutionalized and 60 institutionalized mentally retarded adolescents were psychometrically assessed on three measures: sexual knowledge, sexual attitudes, and self-concept. The two groups differed on total score on sex knowledge only, with the non institutionalized group being more knowledgeable. With regard to sexual attitudes and self-concept, the two groups did not differ in terms of total correct statements. Internal consistency demonstrated on all the measures ranged from .50 to .90. Intercorrelations of relevant variables for each group (10 for the noninstitutionalized, 13 for the institutionalized) produced several significant correlations. Results were discussed with reference to the development of a standardized instrument for assessing sex-education programs for mentally retarded persons.