The influence of alcohol in the practice of safe sex in adolescence

Introduction Currently, the consumption of alcohol in adolescent population is associated with the practice of risk behaviour. It was considered suitable to carry out a scoping review, considering as starting question: "the consumption of alcohol affects decision-making, in adolescence, in the experience of safe sex?". Objective To identify the influence of alcohol in the decision-making on a practice of safe sex in adolescents. Methods Scoping review using the Protocol of Joanna Briggs Institute. The Mesh descriptors defined led to the following search expression: ‘‘alcohol drinking AND decision-making AND adolescent OR safe sex’’. There was consulted two scientific databases ProQuest and PubMed, considering the following criteria for inclusion: articles in academic and specialized magazines, with date of publication for a period of 5 years. In order to perform the step in the "Study Selection" it was used the PRISM 2009 flowchart to ease the methodological quality assessment of articles to be included in the meta-analysis. Results Six studies were included. Evidence shows that excessive alcohol consumption makes people more uninhibited and exhibits behaviours that are socially inadequate and lack selfcontrol. Therefore, alcohol affects the decision making of the adolescent, becoming more susceptible to the practice of unsafe sex. However, the practice of safe sex is also influenced by the lack of knowledge of both parents and adolescents. Conclusion The role of the nurse is to alert parents so that they get closer to their children and respond to their needs. It consists also in trying to approach to the reality of young people, identifying the problem and develop prevention and treatment programs for alcohol use, in order to prevent early and continuous behaviours congruent with a healthy life.