Divergent Views on Romance and Disability - D. Cheryl Keene

Intimate relationships are seen as one of the foundations of basic human needs, necessary to form and maintain long-lasting bonds. Despite this emphasis on intimacy in everyday life, the experience of the disabled population does not inherently share similar expectations and practicalities of intimacy compared to nondisabled people. Previous research suggests that disabled individuals are more likely to remain single despite their reported desire for intimate, romantic relations. The current study seeks to understand this discrepancy between desire and outcome of romantic relationships by analyzing views and opinions on relationships and intimacy through looking into expectations, barriers, and supports for long-term intimate

relationship formation between two separate, yet related perspectives