ORIGINAL ARTICLE An investigation of students’ with mild learning disabilities reactions to participating in sexuality research Gail Thomas and Biza Stenfert Kroese, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birminghamm B15 2TT, UK Summary This study investigates 35 students’ with mild learning disabilities reactions to participating in a research project exploring their sexual knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. Students completed an informed consent procedure prior to their participation in the sexuality research and all were interviewed using a confidential interview procedure. During the research interviews, each student’s reaction to participation was observed and recorded by their interviewer. Following the interviews, each student’s reaction to participation was observed and recorded by their college tutor. Researchers observed that although some students were embarrassed discussing certain sexual topics, none chose to stop their interviews when invited. Ten students requested additional information from their interviewers about the issues discussed. Tutors reported that no students appeared anxious or distressed following their interviews and that no inappropriate sexualized beha- viour, or talk, were observed. Tutors also reported that several students appeared to have been positively affected by their participation. No tutors expressed concern about their students participating in similar research in the future. It is concluded that a number of methodological and participant factors may have accounted for the positive outcomes reported. The implications of these findings and recommenda- tions for future research are discussed. Keywords Learning disability, research participants, sexuality research Introduction It is clear that the best way of increasing our knowledge of how people with learning disabilities experience their sexual lives is to speak with people who have learning disabilities themselves (Heshusius 1987; McCarthy 1998; Ousley & Mesibov 1991). Over the past decade, discourses with some groups of people with learning disabilities have helped us to gain insight into people’s experiences in this area (e.g. Lesseliers 1999; McCarthy 2003). However, Thompson (2001) has argued, that in order to move to a position where we are supporting a wide range of people with learning disabilities to have ‘better sex’, we need to be better informed about their experiences to enable us to tailor our support to meet their needs. Research into people’s sexual experiences is fraught with complex ethical and methodological difficulties, especially when it concerns people with learning disabilities. From the outset, selecting the most appropriate methodology, recruit- ing participants and then empowering them to make informed decisions about their rights as participants are just a few of the hurdles for prospective researchers. Parents, carers and teachers may all express concern about the potential negative impact of speaking to people with ª 2005 BILD Publications, British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 33, 113–119