{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T07:38:39Z","timestamp":1774251519805,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774224000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Sex education for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is often overlooked in traditional educational programs, despite scientific evidence highlighting the need for a specific personalized approach. Family involvement is essential, but Italian literature on the role of caregivers in this area is still limited.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Materials and methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This qualitative study adapted a previously developed qualitative protocol to the Italian context. A focus group was conducted with parents of adolescents with ASD (n=9) and an online questionnaire was administered (n=12). The questions explored previous experiences, perceptions of sex education, content considered a priority, and preferred methods of intervention.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The thematic analysis highlighted two macro areas: 1) the role of parents in sex education, ranging from direct supervision to delegation to professionals; 2) the vulnerability of children with ASD, linked to communication difficulties, exposure to inappropriate content and lack of experiential education. Parents expressed a strong need for clear, experiential and culturally sensitive educational tools.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The study highlights the need to develop structured and inclusive sex education programs for adolescents with ASD, actively involving caregivers. A multidimensional and collaborative approach is essential, capable of integrating emotional, physical and regulatory aspects. The results offer a significant contribution to bridging the gap in Italy on this issue and to guiding future educational and policy interventions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1712462","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T06:44:19Z","timestamp":1774248259000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Sex education in adolescents with ASD: a qualitative study on the role of parents in the Italian context"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Rosaria","family":"Ferrara","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomical, Histological, Legal Medicine and Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome","place":["Rome, Italy"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pasquale","family":"Ricci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life Science, Health and Health Profession, Link Campus University","place":["Rome, Italy"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alessia","family":"Succu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"OISMA Organizzazione Italiana Studio e Monitoraggio Autismo","place":["Roma, Italy"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ariana","family":"Cal\u00f2","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"OISMA Organizzazione Italiana Studio e Monitoraggio Autismo","place":["Roma, Italy"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Monica","family":"Calderaro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universit\u00e0 degli Studi Internazionali di Roma","place":["UNINT, Roma, Italy"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Georgia Elisa","family":"Cafiero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universit\u00e0 degli Studi Internazionali di Roma","place":["UNINT, Roma, Italy"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Leonardo","family":"Iovino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Economic and Legal Studies, \u201cParthenope\u201d University of Naples","place":["Naples, Italy"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lidia","family":"Ricci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomical, Histological, Legal Medicine and Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome","place":["Rome, Italy"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","volume-title":"Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders","year":"2013"},{"key":"B2","volume-title":"Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders","year":"2022"},{"key":"B3","first-page":"e96","article-title":"Autism Spectrum Disorder and intact executive functioning","volume":"167","author":"Ferrara","year":"2016","journal-title":"La Clinica Terapeutica"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7417\/CT.2023.5022","article-title":"Parents-children co-regulation as therapeutic variable and target in autism spectrum disorders. 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