Abstract

CASTRO, Rita. What does sexuality mean? A qualitative study. NTQR [online]. 2021, vol.8, pp.676-688.  Epub Dec 06, 2021. ISSN 2184-7770.  https://doi.org/10.36367/ntqr.8.2021.676-688.

Sexuality is a fundamental dimension in life. Given that this is a very individual aspect of each person, this study sought to know which meanings are associated with sexuality. Namely, what is the central and peripheral core of the term “sexuality” and what are the classes of meanings that emerge. For this, a qualitative methodology was used, using the Free Word Association Technique. Participated 1053 people (838 female, 204 male and 11 non-binary) with an average age of 30.56 years (SD=11.01). The data were treated with the textual analysis software IRaMuTeQ. From the frequency analysis it was concluded that the five most spoken words were: pleasure (n=537), sex (n=496), intimacy (n=449), love (n=440) and relationship (n=115). The prototypical analysis allowed us to understand a centrality in the conceptualization of sexuality around the concepts of pleasure, sex, intimacy, and love, with peripheral nuclei associated with relationship, desire, affection, self-esteem, fun and couple. The analysis of the Descending Hierarchical Classification indicated a grouping of the meanings of sexuality in four classes: 1) Involvement; 2) Sharing; 3) Affection; and 4) Expression, in two branches. The qualitative methodology through TALP allowed to obtain the evocations raised about sexuality, where, from the set of results of the various textual analyses, it was possible to find the existence of different meanings of sexuality, which will be added value to be considered in the intervention, from educational programs to clinical interventions, to better intervene seeking to know the meanings of sexuality in the context.

Keywords : Qualitative Research; Textual Analysis; Meanings; Sexuality; Portugal..

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