Attitudes of staff members toward a sex education program for hospitalized adolescents

Problems encountered when introducing sex education programs into institutions are frequently attributed to adult resistance related to the anxiety of staff members about their sexuality and that of their charges. The author examines the process by which a sex education program was introduced into a psychiatric hospital for adolescents and the attitudes of staff members toward the course. He suggests that the acceptance of such programs is determined as much by the social dynamics of initiating change in institutions as by the particular content or form of the new program.