Spontaneous Sex and Cerebral Palsy

 

The University of Sydney
Faculty of Health Sciences
Aging and Human Development
Faculty Research Group

Tinashe Moira Dune / Dr. Elias Mpofu
Doctoral Candidate / Associate Professor

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION

In light of detrimental sexual expectations, like sexual spontaneity, which act as barriers to sexual intimacy this research aims to discover how people (of all sexual orientations) with moderate to severe Cerebral Palsy conceive of and maintain a positive sense of sexual self. This project will further explore how people with Cerebral Palsy overcome barriers caused by expectations of sexual spontaneity in order to negotiate and establish sexual relationships.

Participating in this online qualitative questionnaire would require you to answer question pertaining to your sexuality. The first set of questions will focus on your major life events and daily experiences as a person with cerebral palsy. The following question focus on what you think of the idea that good sex is spontaneous, how you may overcome this sexual expectation in order to create and maintain a positive sexual self-concept (body image, sexual esteem and sense of desirability), whether you believe it has affected your ability to access and develop sexual relationships and how you deal with sexual barriers like sexual spontaneity in order to negotiate and establish sexual relationships.

Completing this questionnaire should take approximately 1 – 1 ½ hours.

Participating in this study is completely voluntary. You are not under any obligation to consent. If you do consent you can withdraw at any time without prejudice or penalty, and without giving any reason for withdrawing. You may stop the interview at any time, if you do not wish to continue. You can also choose not to answer any particular question. Withdrawing from the study will not affect your relationships with your disability service provider. There may be a risk that you may develop feelings of distress during and/or following your participation due to the nature of the topics discussed. If you withdraw from the study, any information provided to the researchers will be destroyed. Counselling services will be available should you become distressed and require assistance. If you wish, we can send you additional information about the study in writing before you decide.

The results will be used for the completion of a PhD thesis, publications in journals, book chapters and presentations in scientific meetings.

All aspects of the study, including results, will be strictly confidential and only Tinashe Dune, Cherry Russell, Elias Mpofu and Russell Shuttleworth will have access to participants’ information. A report of the study may be submitted for publication and may be presented to conferences, but no individual participant, any other person, or organisation, will be identifiable in any such report or presentation.

If you would like to know more or complete the questionnaire in person at any stage, please feel free to contact; Tinashe Dune, Doctoral Candidate, University of Sydney, Tel: 0416 015 304, Fax: 9351 9540, email: t.dune@usyd.edu.au

Any person with concerns or complaints about the conduct of a research study can contact the Senior Ethics Officer, Ethics Administration, University of Sydney on (02) 9351 8627 8175 (telephone); (02) 8627 8180 (facsimile) or gbriody@usyd.edu.au (Email).
OR
The Spastic Centre Ethics Committee on (02) 9479 7200 or ethics@tscnsw.org.au