Social representations of adolescents and youth living with HIV about adolescence, sexuality and AIDS

Abstract

The adolescence is marked by changes bio-psycho-social. The teenager seropositive, in addition to dealing with these changes is to address the limitations of seropositivity end exercise safe sex practices in order to not re-infect/spread the virus. The objectives are: to understand the Social Representations (SR) of adolescents and young living with HIV/AIDS on “adolescence” and “adolescence and AIDS” and identify how they live their sexuality. The study consists in part of a research, being qualitative type of, based on the on RS theory, developed with 18 seropositive subjects 11 to 20 years who are attending a reference center. We conducted content analysis of semi-structured interviews. That despite internal conflicts and constraints in being a person in adolescence and/or young living with HIV, the ripening process, brought even by the very condition of seropositivity drives the search for strategies that provide better coping with sexuality. Therefore, there is a need for interventions in health and sexuality of these people.

Descriptors: Sexuality; Adolescent; HIV; Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.