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Shaping Effective Masturbation in Persons with Developmental Disabilities: A Review of the Literature

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Abstract

Individuals with developmental disabilities often encounter problems when engaging in sexual behavior through masturbation. Although sometimes taking the form of inappropriate behavior, such as public masturbation, ineffective masturbation, such as the inability to achieve orgasm through masturbation, is also encountered. The current study investigated the peer-reviewed literature as it pertains to empirically supported treatments for inappropriate and ineffective masturbation. Out of an original 1066 articles from 1940 to 2017, only 38 articles met criteria as treatment articles with masturbation as the target of study. Articles were analyzed by years of publication, desired direction of target, orientation of treatment, participant characteristics and behavioral treatments employed. Treatments were then discussed in detail with the purpose of establishing a body of empirically supported treatments for the shaping of effective masturbation in individuals with developmental disabilities. Unfortunately, results highlighted the need for significantly more clinical research before clinicians are able to rely on the literature for treatment ideas.

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  1. Department of Educational Studies, Program of Applied Behavior Analysis, Seton Hall University, 400 South Orange Avenue, South Orange, NJ, 07079, USA

    Frank R. Cicero

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  1. Frank R. Cicero
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Correspondence to Frank R. Cicero.

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Cicero, F.R. Shaping Effective Masturbation in Persons with Developmental Disabilities: A Review of the Literature. Sex Disabil 37, 91–108 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-018-9551-y

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