Behavioral Health Provider Attitudes and Beliefs about Sexuality and Intimacy: Findings from a Mixed Method Design.

Behavioral Health Provider Attitudes and Beliefs about Sexuality and Intimacy: Findings from a Mixed Method Design.

Tennille J; Bohrman C; Barrenger S; Compton E; Meduna E; Klein L

Community Mental Health Journal

2021

2021-06-03

Recovery-oriented services overlook a crucial health domain for persons with severe mental illnesses (SMI): sexuality and intimacy. Though this aspect of social recovery correlates with improved life quality and treatment outcomes, behavioral health (BH) providers avoid such topics. The study’s purpose was to obtain an updated snapshot of their attitudes and beliefs about sexuality and intimacy communication. Utilizing a community advisory board, we adapted the Sexual Attitudes and Beliefs Survey (SABS) and distributed it via survey link to a national listserv. We used independent samples t-tests to examine differences on SABS mean scores by gender, age group, educational attainment, and previous training on sexuality and intimacy. We asked open-ended questions and coded responses using content analysis. Participants with more education and previous exposure to training on sexuality and intimacy were more likely to hold open views on communication. Findings offer directions for addressing this neglected aspect of recovery.

Springer Nature has partnered with Copyright Clearance Center's RightsLink service to offer a variety of options for reusing this content.

Journal Article

Springer Nature has partnered with Copyright Clearance Center's RightsLink service to offer a variety of options for reusing this content.

NEOMED College of Medicine

Department of Psychiatry

Jan to Aug list 2021