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CERTIFIED REHABILITATION COUNSELORS’ WILLINGNESS TO ADDRESS SEXUALITY-RELATED CONCERNS WITH CLIENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Title
CERTIFIED REHABILITATION COUNSELORS’ WILLINGNESS TO ADDRESS SEXUALITY-RELATED CONCERNS WITH CLIENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Creator
Easton, Amanda B.
Date
2015, 2015-05
Description
Certified Rehabilitation Counselors (CRCs) are professionals who are responsible for supporting the rights and independence of people with...
Show moreCertified Rehabilitation Counselors (CRCs) are professionals who are responsible for supporting the rights and independence of people with disabilities. CRCs provide a number of services to those with a number of disabilities including, but not limited to, mental health counseling, vocational counseling, advocacy, and psychoeducation. Given the plethora of complexities associated with the wide range of disabilities people experience, CRCs are professionals who need to have a variety of skills, knowledge, and competencies. In recent years, the rates of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have increased drastically and issues related to the disorder have become more widely known than ever before. It is likely, given the rates of ASD diagnoses and the fact that CRCs work with individuals with disorders like ASD, that CRCs will interact with someone who has ASD at some juncture in their professional tenure. ASD is characterized by impaired social functioning, verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior. In some circumstances ASD is coupled with cognitive deficits, speech and language delays and deficits, and behavioral challenges. Still, those with ASD experience the same hormonal changes as anyone else during puberty and maturation and are impacted by sexuality. For CRCs sexuality is typically considered a part of culture and having a strong multicultural competency is expected by the governing agencies that dictate CRC ethical practice. Furthermore, few studies that explore CRCs attitudes and intentions have used the theoretical framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior. This study attempted to explore the factors that contribute to CRCs willingness to address sexuality-related concerns for clients with ASD. This study used a sample of 99 CRCs throughout the United States. The predictors included familiarity, attitudes towards sexuality for people with ASD, subjective normative beliefs, and control beliefs, while controlling for participants’ age, gender, training around sexuality, and spirituality. A hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyze whether these factors were predictive of CRCs willingness to address sexuality-related issues for clients with ASD. Results demonstrated that gender and familiarity were initially significant predictors; however, when controlling for the TPB variables, the variance in willingness was better accounted for by subjective normative beliefs and control beliefs. Additionally, the CRCs in this study were asked to rate 11 areas of sexuality that they were most and least comfortable with. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA along with follow-up contrasts was completed. The CRCs in this study reported feeling the highest level of comfort with addressing sexual harassment and sexuality in the workplace and were least comfortable addressing masturbation and sexual behaviors and preferences. Further, based on a Spearman’s rank analysis, the vignette case example showed that CRCs thought that social skills development was the most important intervention, followed by emotional support, sexual identity, self-esteem, and job training, though scores on social skills did not differ significantly from the other interventions.
Ph.D. in Psychology, May 2015
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