Sexting: percepções de adolescentes e pais sobre o fenômeno e sua relação com aspectos familiares

Abstract

This research investigated the perception of adolescents and parents about the phenomenon called as sexting. It is characterized as sending or receiving sexual content, such as videos and / or naked pictures or body parts, through the internet. Two qualitative and exploratory studies were carried out using semi-structured interviews and the focus group as instruments. Data from the focus group and interviews were examined using the content analysis method. In Study I, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six adolescents, aged 14 to 17 years, from a school in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, RS. The results revealed that sexting was seen as common among participants and that they did not consider involvement in the phenomenon as bad, only unauthorized sharing of their content. Also, the data showed that adolescents perceived the role of parents as important in engaging the child in active sexting. In Study II were explored what parents of adolescents between 12 and 18 years old think about the involvement of their children in sexting. Two focus groups were assembled in the same school from the first study. Participants said they did not know how to deal with their children's involvement in sexting. The highest reported concern was the risk of adolescent public exposure, rather than the involvement in sexting. The results of the dissertation show that involvement in the phenomenon is part of the lives of adolescents and, consequently, of their families. Also, although parents and adolescents share perceptions that engaging in sexting is not a problem, but rather the leakage of the content of this, parents do not feel prepared to deal with the child's involvement. Finally, these findings serve to guide parents, educators, and therapists, especially those of the family, in order to understand the thoughts and attitudes of adolescents and parents about sexting, and to propose interventions aimed at improve communication between parent-child.