Abstract
In the transition to adulthood, sexuality and emotional relationships constitute one of the most important dimensions for the achievement of personal autonomy and emotional well-being. Despite advances in sex education, sexuality, and relationships remain conflictive areas in the development of young people. Inequalities between men and women, gender identities and sexual violence, along with the beliefs and expectations surrounding these issues, persist as handicaps to having a fulfilling relationship and sex life. At this stage, emotional well-being is also consolidated by one’s perception of sexuality and relationships from models learned in childhood, in which gender stereotypes and sexuality based on relationships of domination and discrimination persist. Therefore, we examined how the sexual beliefs and practices reported by young people correlate with their level of personal autonomy and responsibility in terms of risky behaviors and toxic relationships. The study shows the extent to which sexual beliefs and habits are linked to decision-making, personal development and social problems derived from conflictive relationships, affecting young people’s overall well-being. A questionnaire was developed based on the theoretical constructs of comprehensive sexuality and equality education (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2010, 2018; World Health Organization [WHO], 2010) with the following dimensions: sex education, sexual habits and practices, motivations, concepts, and beliefs about sexuality. It was distributed in institutions of higher education (N579) in Spain, Portugal, Argentina, and Brazil, and the results revealed a discrepancy between the reported practices and behaviors and the beliefs and models of reference. Key issues included sexuality and relationships as an aspect of personal life that generates confusion and conflict, as well as the propagation of gender and sexist stereotypes that influence young people’s emotional well-being, particularly important aspect in those young people who are training as future education professional.
Highlights
The World Health Organization (WHO) describes sexual health as a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being in relation to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity
We start with the premise that, as indicated by WHO and UNESCO, sexuality is a part of and necessary for emotional well-being in youth, influencing aspects related to health, social bonds, and personal autonomy
The following is a discussion of the results in each dimension of our study as they relate to the emotional well-being of young people and the categories based on the WHO’s recommendations (2010, 2018)
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) describes sexual health as a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being in relation to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity. For sexual health to be attained and maintained, the sexual rights of all persons must be respected, protected, and fulfilled Sexual health is a permanent experience of physical, psychological and sociocultural well-being Such is the case that we can observe subjects’ level of sexual health based on their responsible sexual behaviors. The latter include safe sexual relations, and sexual behaviors in which autonomy, maturity, honesty, respect, consent, protection, and the pursuit of well-being come into play
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