How to deal with sexual complaints from adolescents (Portuguese)
Adolescence is a stage of the human development that, according to The WHO, lies between the ages of 10 and 20 years. It’s a moment of transformation where the individual is no longer a child, but not yet an adult. Adolescence has been a major focus of various researches, especially after the seventies. The ambivalence, curiosity, unpredictability and thirst to live new emotions, are personality characteristics commonly related to the adolescent.
In the first phase of adolescence, which ranges from the age of 10 to 14, the main curiosity is directed to their bodily changes and transformations. In the second phase, the curiosity of adolescents consists in exploring this new body, so that the majority of Brazilian and worldwide research results indicate that the average beginning of sexual life comes at the age of 15 or 16 years old. Unfortunately, despite numerous attempts in the field of sex education, the effective participation of the school or the family in sexual education is non-existent, which leads to the exercise of premature and risky sexual behavior. Teenagers are potential victims of sexual abuse and violence, this is related not only to their unpreparedness and curiosity, but to the fact that they might end up involved with unscrupulous people that lure them with promises of financial gain, blackmail or status.
The professionals responsible for the health of adolescents know that the most frequent issues brought by adolescents are related to the lack of knowledge about sexual and reproductive health. This leads to fear regarding: sexual intercourse, sexual diseases, parental confiicts and unexpected pregnancies, but, at the same time, this lack of knowledge also contributes to the belief of invulnerability (magical thinking). Considering specifically the sexual complaints and issues brought to the clinic; questions about their own sexual orientation are very frequent, and much of this particular issue comes mostly from the parents rather than from the adolescents themselves. Lastly, regarding the field of sexual dysfunction, the most prevalent sexual problem is premature ejaculation in men, which is typical of anxiety and fear of performance. As for women, anorgasmia is the most frequent sexual problem, and it is related to ignorance of their own body’s physiological responses as much as shame in the communication with the partner, leading to a sexual inadequacy of the couple and other long-term sexual difficulties. As we know, sex is reinforced by the sex itself, and if the beginning of the sexual life is not satisfactory it may jeopardize the whole sexual performance for life.
