La investigación sobre sexualidad infantil: limitaciones y recomendaciones

• Autores: Eva González Ortega
• Localización: Summa Psicológica UST, ISSN 0718-0446, Vol. 17, Nº. 1, 2020
• Idioma: español
• DOI: 10.18774/0719-448x.2020.17.455
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Research on childhood sexuality: Limitations and recommendations
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo (pdf)
• Resumen
  • español

    Los niños pueden tener comportamientos y sentimientos de naturaleza sexual. Sin embargo, dada la escasa investigación científica, la sociedad a menudo no reconoce las experiencias propias del desarrollo sexual infantil, y no hay consenso sobre qué conductas son normativas. Esta revisión pretende describir las principales conclusiones alcanzadas en este campo, y analizar las lagunas de conocimiento y limitaciones metodológicas existentes, con las consiguientes sugerencias para futuras investigaciones. Los resultados indican que debe prestarse más atención a las cogniciones y sentimientos relacionados con la sexualidad, la perspectiva de los niños, las manifestaciones sexuales saludables y normativas, y los factores de socialización sexual relevantes. Se aconseja combinar métodos directos e indirectos, así como técnicas cuantitativas y cualitativas para una mayor riqueza y validez de los hallazgos. También se aportan consideraciones éticas. En conclusión, es necesario profundizar en la investigación de la sexualidad infantil desde una perspectiva integradora y ecológica que aporte una base empírica para el desarrollo de intervenciones en salud sexual infantil.

  • English

    Children may display behaviors and have feelings of a sexual nature. However, due to the paucity of research, society often fails to acknowledge developmentally-appropriate sexual experiences in childhood, and there is no consensus on which behaviors are normative. This review aims to describe the main conclusions of studies in this field and to analyze the gaps in knowledge, the existing methodological shortcomings, and the resulting recommendations for future research. According to findings, studies should pay more attention to thoughts and feelings related to sexuality, the children’s perspective; normative, healthy sexual expressions; and the relevant sexual socialization factors. Both direct and indirect methods, quantitative and qualitative techniques, should be combined to enhance the richness and validity of findings. The article also presents ethical tips. In conclusion, there is a need to further examine childhood sexuality from a comprehensive, ecological approach that provides an empirical basis for the development of interventions in children´s sexual health.

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