"I just tell them to do it privately": parents' experiences managing sexual behaviours in adolescents with intellectual disabilities.

Abstract

Objectives: Adolescents with intellectual disabilities are at increased risk of experiencing and displaying inappropriate sexual behaviours, while parents in culturally sensitive settings often lack adequate guidance for managing them. This study examined how Indonesian parents recognise and manage inappropriate sexual behaviours among adolescents with intellectual disabilities within culturally embedded contexts.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive design with a case-study orientation was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 mothers of adolescents with intellectual disabilities in Indonesia between October and December 2024. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis to examine emotional responses, behavioural management strategies, and parents' support needs.

Results: Parents reported diverse inappropriate sexual behaviours occurring during daily routines and described difficulty distinguishing normative from problematic actions. Emotional reactions included shame, panic, fear of judgment, and anxiety about exploitation, shaped by cultural and religious expectations of modesty. Parents resorted to reactive strategies such as correction, supervision, environmental control, and consistent reinforcement, but lacked structured guidance and culturally appropriate resources. They expressed strong needs for hands-on training, clear behavioural criteria, visual teaching tools, and coordinated support between families and schools.

Conclusions: The findings highlight the emotional and cultural complexity of parental responses to inappropriate sexual behaviours and underscore the need for culturally grounded, family-centred interventions. Strengthening parental capacity through tailored training and collaborative frameworks is essential to improving behavioural management and safeguarding adolescents with intellectual disabilities.