Maternidade e paternidade na adolescência: algumas constatações em três cidades do Brasil

Abstract

This study describes young people from 18 to 24 years of age who experienced motherhood and fatherhood. The data are from a multi-center study (the GRAVAD Research Project) IntroduçãoMaternidade na adolescência é um tema que vem suscitando não só o interesse entre estudiosos da demografia, da saúde pública e das ciências sociais, como também o debate públi-co. Os estudos demográficos têm demonstrado que no Brasil, nos últimos vinte anos, houve um aumento da taxa específica de fecundidade e uma elevação relativa de nascimentos em mulheres de 15 a 19 anos, em contraste com a tendência revelada em outros grupos etários, fato este também observado em alguns países da América Latina 1 , e que reforça o argumento da gravidez na adolescência como "problema social". No campo da saúde, as questões debatidas relativas a essa temática enfatizam os riscos para a saúde das mães e das crianças provenientes de gestação em mulheres muito jovens 2,3,4 . O enfoque de "risco" é ressaltado e associado a um imaginário contemporâneo que concebe a adolescência como um período de instabilidade, caracterizado por crises 5 . Também é comum aludir o comportamento juvenil a atitudes "descompromissadas" e a um estilo de vida efêmero, o que contribui para uma construção negativa dessa fase da vida 6 .A compreensão do fenômeno da gravidez na adolescência com base numa perspectiva sociológica requer a identificação das condições sociais e históricas que deram a essa gravidez o estatuto de "problema". Significa enten-

Gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health among low-income youth in three Brazilian cities

“…10 In a study of the sociodemographic behavioural profile of low-income teenagers in a very poor neighbourhood in São Paulo, the largest Brazilian city, Chalem et al 18 found that 27% of 1,000 girls included in their study had been pregnant at least once. Using the GRAVAD data set, Dias and Aquino 19 have shown that from a total of 4,634 teenagers from different social backgrounds interviewed, 18% of the girls and around 6% of the boys had experienced parenthood during adolescence. The difference between the rates of teenage pregnancy found by GRAVAD and by our study can be explained by the fact that the teenage pregnancy rate is much lower for respondents with higher family income than those in lower income brackets 19 and our respondents had a lower average income than in GRAVAD.…”

“…Using the GRAVAD data set, Dias and Aquino 19 have shown that from a total of 4,634 teenagers from different social backgrounds interviewed, 18% of the girls and around 6% of the boys had experienced parenthood during adolescence. The difference between the rates of teenage pregnancy found by GRAVAD and by our study can be explained by the fact that the teenage pregnancy rate is much lower for respondents with higher family income than those in lower income brackets 19 and our respondents had a lower average income than in GRAVAD. 16 In this sense, our results are in line with previous findings, 8,17,19,20 that point to the impact of class inequality on the probability of being a parent during adolescence.…”

“…In each town, we interviewed the same number of female and male respondents in each age group (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24) and 25-29 years old). Older youth (25-29) were included to study the longitudinal impact of sexual and reproductive behaviour.…”

Paternidade na adolescência: a família como rede social de apoio

“…Most adolescents started to work due to becoming a father because they consider it essential to work in order to comply with their paternal responsibilities in providing for their child. [14][15] Therefore, it can be said that, for the adolescents, having a job reaffirms their transition from adolescence into adulthood, thus contributing towards their commitment to fatherhood. 15 However, in addition to their commitment to work, adolescents also seek support from their family, which contributes to the construction of their experience of fatherhood, promoting the essential psychological support they need, in addition to financial support.…”

“…Other studies have observed a more direct participation of parents and grandparents as providers of financial support in addition to helping to care for the baby. 15,19 It should be emphasized that the quality of the relationships and activities that take place within the family is essential for adolescents in learning to become effective parents. Therefore, in order for the adolescent father to develop within the fatherhood process, good communication between family members is essential, in order to promote and help to establish more effective relationships within the support network.…”