Sexuality in young adults of quilombolas communities in the eastern Amazon region

Quilombola communities are groups descended from African runaway slaves as a form of resistance against enslavement. In these communities there is absence of health promotion programs, hindering access to health care, due to socioeconomic, geographic and political factors. This deficiency places these individuals in greater vulnerability, as they lack adequate information about preventive care for improving quality of life. In addition, there are few studies on sexuality in these communities, especially in the Eastern Amazon region. This study aims to analyze the sexuality of young quilombola adults and the impact on their quality of life. This is an observational, cross-sectional, quantitative study with descriptive and inferential analysis. The participants were 79 individuals of both sexes, from 18 to 35 years of age, belonging to seven communities in the Eastern Amazon region. The questionnaires used were directed to know the sexual behavior and satisfaction, the values and beliefs about sexuality, the prejudice in relation to sexual and gender diversity and the knowledge about Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) and the quality of life. Women have greater sexual dissatisfaction and lower quality of life than men; men do not have sexual dysfunction, however, they have greater prejudice in relation to sexual diversity and gender. Low education can interfere in the sexuality of the quilombola population, because knowledge about STDs and values and beliefs influence sexual behavior, exposing individuals to vulnerability, in addition, sexual satisfaction directly influences the quality of life of the research participants.