Socioeconomic characteristics influence attitudes towards sexuality in adolescents

Juliani Da Silva Araújo Alves,Katrini Guidolini Martinelli,Edson Theodoro Dos Santos Neto,Maria Carmen Moldes Viana,Silvana Granado Nogueira Da Gama

doi:10.36311/jhgd.v31.11084

Juliani Da Silva Araújo Alves, Katrini Guidolini Martinelli + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.36311/jhgd.v31.11084

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Abstract

Backgroung: Attitudes Towards Sexuality in Adolescents (ATSA) are built according to the experiences and different social contexts. Objectives: to analyze attitudes towards sexuality itself, according to socioeconomic factors in adolescents aged. Methods: Cross-sectional school-based study was carried out with 2,292 adolescents enrolled in high school, in 54 schools, through interviews using the Attitudes Toward Sexuality in Adolescents (AFSA) instrument that has four dimensions, and measures the Permissiveness, Communion, Instrumentality and Sexual Practices. Then, the attitude of each adolescent was classified as: unfavorable, indifferent and favorable. Pearson’s Chi-square test and Multinomial Logistic Regression were used in statistical analyses. Results: It was verified that the majority of the adolescents presented unfavorable AFSA, being these behaviors directly associated to: age of 15/16 and 17 years (OR=0.59; OR=0.47); lower secondary education (OR=2.03); adolescent’s head of family having low education (OR=2.00); to live with the partner (OR=2.77); race / color black (OR=2.04) and brown (OR=1.88); and lower family income (OR=2.50). Conclusion: Adolescents with lower socioeconomic status are more likely to have unfavorable attitudes towards their own sexuality.

Highlights

IntroductionThe concept of sexuality is multidimensional and includes, in addition to biological and psychological formation, production in the cultural, social and historical context, in which the individual is inserted[2,3]
Human sexuality has undergone transformations in the last decades, which have changed rigid norms of behavior, generating doubt and insecurity, especially in adolescents[1].The concept of sexuality is multidimensional and includes, in addition to biological and psychological formation, production in the cultural, social and historical context, in which the individual is inserted[2,3]
Initially, when conducting the pilot study to test the AFSA instrument, the score obtained allowed the adolescents to be classified into three groups: I - Global average minus 0.25 standard deviation, means an unfavorable AFSA; II - global average plus 0.25 standard deviation, means a favorable AFSA; III - adolescents with values between these limits were classified as indifferent AFSA

Summary

Introduction

The concept of sexuality is multidimensional and includes, in addition to biological and psychological formation, production in the cultural, social and historical context, in which the individual is inserted[2,3]. According to data from the last Brazilian census[8], the adolescent population (10 to 19 years old) corresponds to 17.9% of the Brazilian population, a population that needs to have their sexual and reproductive rights assured. In this sense, the Atitudes Face à Sexualidade em Adolescentes (Attitudes Towards Sexuality in Adolescents/AFSA) will be built according to the experiences and different social contexts. These contexts can determine these attitudes as positive or negative, and they are not watertight, but can be modified[1], becoming a way of measuring sexuality through the attitudes reported by individuals

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Conclusion