The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #46344

Ana Claudia Franca-Koh, BSc, MSc and Fatima Juarez, Senior Lecturer. Centre for Population Studies, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, United Kingdom, +44 20 7299 4753, ana.franca-koh@lshtm.ac.uk

The reproductive health of young people in Brazil is a public health concern, due to the increase in adolescent pregnancies and the spread of STIs and HIV. To adequately address the sexual health needs of young people, a better understanding of the factors that influence their sexual behaviour must be obtained. Research has shown that through sexual communication, parents influence young people's reproductive health. These findings however, are controversial. One of the explanations for the inconsistent results is that the conceptualisations of sexual communication that have been studied have been too simplistic. For example, most researchers have not investigated the non-verbal aspects of sexual communication. Thus by researching both the verbal and non-verbal processes of sexual communication between young people and parents, this study addresses the inconsistency of past research and allows for a better understanding of whether, how, and to what extent, it is related to young people's reproductive health. The theoretical position of this study is that through sexual communication with parents, young people learn about and internalise sexual scripts that influence their sexual behaviour. The study took place in the low-income town of Samambaia, Federal District, Brazil. A multi-method approach was applied, in which a survey was conducted with 937 young people (both males and females) aged 13 to 18. Eight focus groups and 152 in-depth interviews were also implemented, with both young people and parents. The results have implications for the development of policy and interventions aimed at improving the reproductive health of young people.

Learning Objectives: "At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Discuss the existing controversies in the parent-adolescent sexual communication literature.
• Describe how sexual scripts are transmitted from parents to young people through verbal and non-verbal sexual communication.
• Explore which aspects of sexual communication lead to prevention of unwanted pregnancies and STIs/HIV amongst young people.

Keywords: Adolescent Health, Sexuality

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.