Resumo

PEREIRA, Paulo Estevão  e  MALFITANO, Ana Paula Serrata. Methodological routes to apprehend universes of adolescents and youngsters: a focus on the drug issue. Rev. bras. crescimento desenvolv. hum. [online]. 2012, vol.22, n.3, pp.334-340. ISSN 0104-1282.

INTRODUCTION: the drug issue has been gaining importance especially with respect to deprived youths, identified as very vulnerable to this matter. However, actions proposed, mostly by health services, have not been able to meet the specific demands of this population, leading to low adherence to services. It turns out that the application of research methodologies based only on clinical, statistical and/or epidemiological data, in the study of poor youths, is not enough to apprehend the diverse social contexts, their singular experiences, either their understanding of these phenomena, requiring most appropriate methods. OBJECTIVE: discuss the use of participatory research methodologies to apprehend youth universes. METHODS: data from a qualitative research among poor youngsters who attend a Youth Center ("Centro da Juventude") in a midsize city of the State of Sao Paulo were used, applying the following methodological resources: participatory observation for nine months; interviews with nine youngsters - young men and women, aged 15 to 29; and workshops on the research themes. The contributions of Social Occupational Therapy were the theoretical framework for this study. RESULTS: the application of participatory methodologies to apprehend people's universes allowed for the access of contents and meanings about their perceptions on drugs. DISCUSSION: The theme of drugs and its insertion in the lives of these deprived youngsters emerged full of nuances not yet perceived or accessed by health services. Therefore, it is worth considering the necessity to apprehend the youth experience in an expanded perspective, if these issues are to be faced.

Palavras-chave : adolescent; occupational therapy; qualitative research; methods.

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