Sexual health of adolescent girls in Tehran: Definition and dimensions

Abstract

Background: The concept of sexual health poses a challenging issue in adolescent age groups, at least partly because cultural emphasis leads to perplexed structural limitations and inequalities, as well as complicated mutual responsibilities between the individual and society.

Materials and methods: This was a qualitative study conducted using the conventional content analysis approach. The participants included 26 individuals (14 adolescent girls aged between 15 and 19 years, six mothers, and six sexual health experts) recruited by purposeful and snowball sampling to achieve maximal diversity. The data were gathered by conducting semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews. Participants were selected among school students and the community. The data were analyzed by the Graneheim and Lundman method.

Results: The analysis of the interviews revealed four main categories and 12 subcategories. The main categories included physical-sexual health, emotional-psychological health, sexual socialization, and moral-spiritual beliefs. Finally, we presented the structural concepts of sexual health among adolescent girls tailored to Tehran's cultural and social context.

Conclusion: Since the topic of sexual health is a product of dynamic and suprasectoral relationships, it requires an organized approach and the participation of officials, stakeholders, health policymakers, researchers, and community members. Adolescent girls' sexual health is inseparable from their sexual well-being and general health. By determining the dimensions and defining adolescent sexual health as congruous to the social and cultural context, it is possible to act in line with the general policies of the country, that is, the approach of comprehensive health and healthy people.

Keywords: Adolescent; Tehran; girls; qualitative study; sexual health; sexual wellbeing; sexuality.