Opportunities for persons with intellectual disabilities to participate in relationships and sexuality education (RSE) are often constrained by the attitudes and perceptions of family carers, frontline support workers and professional staff. In order to understand how the barriers might be reduced, a study was undertaken in Northern Ireland with samples drawn from these three stakeholder groups, involving nearly 100 persons and using group and individual interviews. Although there was agreement on the need for RSE, four barriers were commonly reported: the need to protect vulnerable persons; the lack of training; the scarcity of educational resources; and cultural prohibitions. The impact of these barriers could be lessened through partnership working across these groups involving the provision of training and information about RSE, the development of risk management procedures and the empowerment of people with intellectual disabilities.

To date there has been little research on young people and sexuality in Northern Ireland. This paper draws on the first major study in this area to analyse the delivery of formal sex education in schools. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to access young people's opinions about the quality of the sex education they had received at school. Overall, they reported high levels of dissatisfaction, with notable variations in relation to both gender and religious affiliation. In one sense their opinions mesh well with those of young people in other parts of these islands. At the same time the specificity of sexuality in Ireland plays a key role in producing the moral system that underlies much of formal sex education in schools. Underpinned by a particularly traditional and conservative strain of Christian morality, sex education in Northern Ireland schools is marked by conservatism and silence and by the avoidance of opportunities for informed choice in relation to sexuality on the part of young people.

Two National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles in Britain (Natsal) were conducted, one in 1990 and one in 2000. Northern Ireland was excluded from both studies. Now, for the first time, comparable data about sexual attitudes and lifestyles of young people (14- to 25-year-olds) in Northern Ireland are available. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires, one-to-one interviews and focus-group discussions. As in Natsal 1990 and 2000, young people were asked about their sexual attitudes towards sex, experiences of sex education, knowledge of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and, if sexually active, about the circumstances in which sexual intercourse occurred. A total of 1013 young people in the target age group completed the self-administered questionnaire. Young people in Northern Ireland do not differ significantly from their counterparts in Britain in terms of sexual lifestyles and attitudes. Some 53.3% of all respondents reported that they had had sexual intercourse. Condom use at first sex was reported by 64% of sexually active respondents; 27.4% said they used no contraception; 26.7% of all respondents said they had sex before age 16. Respondents who first had sex when they were 15 or 16 years were more likely than other respondents to say that 'being drunk' was the main reason why intercourse occurred. Peer pressure to engage in sex was more prevalent among males than females. Young people in Northern Ireland regard friends as their most important source of sex education. School is the second most important source but most respondents wanted more sex education in school. It is important that it is needs focused and includes potentially sensitive and contentious information.

The sexual health of people, particularly young people, in Northern Ireland is currently poor. Yet there has been little research conducted on sexual attitudes and lifestyles. This paper is based on data from the first ever major research project in this field in Northern Ireland. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, it targeted young people aged 14–25. A combination of a self‐administered survey questionnaire, focus group discussions and one‐to‐one interviews was found to be most suitable for the collection of sensitive data on sexuality in a country where the social and moral climate had previously prevented studies of this nature. Information was collected on sexual attitudes and behaviour generally. This paper focuses on one crucial issue: the age of first sexual encounter. It explores the attitudes of young people to that experience and the use of contraception. Many of the findings match those of similar large‐scale surveys in England and Wales, including the modal age of first sexual encounter and the influence of peer pressure on decision‐making about first sex. There were significant gender differences in both behaviour and attitudes. It is hoped that the research results will influence future education and health policy, which has all too often been based on ignorance. Notes Most data were categorial and at a nominal or ordinal measurement scale. Therefore mainly descriptive statistics were utilized to analyse the data. Significance levels were calculated using Pearson's chi‐square. Multiresponse analyses were used to examine, among others, sources of sex education and subjects covered, or use of contraception if more than one method was used. A similar gender imbalance as was found in the British Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Johnson et al. 1994 Johnson AM Wadsworth J Wellings K Field J (1994) Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford [Google Scholar]; Wellings et al. 2001 Wellings K Nanchahai K MacDowall W McManus S Erens B Mercer CH et al. (2001) ‘Sexual behaviour in Britain: early heterosexual experience’ The Lancet vol. 358 pp. 1843–1850 [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). In the present survey, while femaleswere more likely to return questionnaires, more males than females took part in focus group discussions. Wight et al.'s (2000 Wight D et al. (2000) ‘Extent of regretted sexual intercourse among young teenagers in Scotland: a cross sectional survey’ British Medical Journal vol. 320 pp. 1243–1244 [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) study of the extent of regretted intercourse of young people in Scotland compares very favourably with these results. This is a highly significant finding, given that information from friends is likely to be the least reliable and correct. The implications of so many people relying on friends for sex education has profound consequences for the sexual health of young people. Additional informationNotes on contributorsBill Rolston Professor Bill Rolston is Professor of Sociology at the University of Ulster, Jordanstown campus, Sociology Department, University of Ulster, Jordanstown, UK. Dr Dirk Schubotz is the research officer with the research project (backed by the Community Fund) on which this article is based, and Dr Audrey Simpson is Director of the Family Planning Association in Belfast, both from Family Planning Association Northern Ireland, Belfast, UK. Correspondence to: Professor Bill Rolston, Professor of Sociology, Jordanstown campus, Sociology Department, University of Ulster, Jordanstown BT37 0QB, UK. Email: wj.rolston@ulster.ac.uk Professor Bill Rolston is Professor of Sociology at the University of Ulster, Jordanstown campus, Sociology Department, University of Ulster, Jordanstown, UK. Dr Dirk Schubotz is the research officer with the research project (backed by the Community Fund) on which this article is based, and Dr Audrey Simpson is Director of the Family Planning Association in Belfast, both from Family Planning Association Northern Ireland, Belfast, UK. Correspondence to: Professor Bill Rolston, Professor of Sociology, Jordanstown campus, Sociology Department, University of Ulster, Jordanstown BT37 0QB, UK. Email: wj.rolston@ulster.ac.uk

This paper reports on the first substantive attempt to accomplish in Northern Ireland what has been done in a number of other societies: namely, the investigation of the sexual attitudes and lifestyles of young people. Co-managed by the Family Planning Association Northern Ireland and the University of Ulster, the three-year research project focused on young people in Northern Ireland aged 14–25 years. In this paper we present some baseline results from the survey, which took place from May 2000 to March 2002 and achieved a quota sample of 1,013 respondents. They include the following: 53.3% of all respondents reported that they had sexual intercourse. Condom use at first sex was reported by 64% of sexually active respondents, 27.4% said they used no contraception. Peer pressure to engage in sex was more prevalent among males than females. Young people in Northern Ireland regarded friends as their most important source of sex education. School was the second most important source, but most respondents wanted more sex education in school. Beyond these baseline data, the findings of the research allow for an informed discussion of a number of key issues of concern regarding young people's sexual health, including the timing and circumstances of first sexual intercourse, and issues arising from sexual orientation. Finally, we suggest that an essential requirement for improved sexual health of young people would be to follow a more sex-positive approach, which encourages young people to discuss sexual matters openly with their peer and others.