The 'wounded soul': What alcoholism means to participants of a women-only Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in São Paulo, Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: Female alcoholism is a public health problem for which membership in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) groups is an effective treatment. As AA is predominantly attended by men in Brazil, the aim of this article is to understand the meaning of this problem and the experience of AA meetings for women. METHODS: A qualitative ethnographic study was conducted between August and September 2019 and included 15 participants of a women-only AA meeting in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Data were collected by means of direct participant observation, records in field diaries, ethnographic interviews and records of experience sharing between the women during the AA meetings. RESULTS: An intelligible, interpretative and comprehensive synthesis of the data collected resulted in two categories: 'Alcohol, Alcoholism and Gender' and 'What AA means to women'. The first category allowed alcoholism to be analysed as a disease associated with gender asymmetries. The second category permitted an assessment to be made of how women-only AA meetings served to provide alcoholic women with a safe and morally privileged place in which they could share their experiences and treat their addiction. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Alcoholism in women is marked by social stigma, making it difficult to find women willing to share their experiences and participate in qualitative research on this important issue in public health. In these women-only meetings, they shared their experiences, and alcoholism is referred to as a 'wounded soul' that causes deep anguish often experienced in the isolation of their own homes.

Los significados de la paternidad para los hombres jóvenes en los alrededores de São Paulo-Brasil / O significado da paternidade para homens jovens na proximidade de São Paulo-Brasil / The meanings of fatherhood for young men in the surroundings of Sao Paulo-Brazil

El objetivo de esta investigación es comprender los significados y representaciones sobre la paternidad de los hombres jóvenes, a través de los códigos sociales propios del contexto sociocultural en el que están. Se trata de una investigación cualitativa en que se realizaron entrevistas semi-estructuradas con los hombres jóvenes en los alrededores de São Paulo, Brasil. El significado de la paternidad está vinculado a las representaciones y las prácticas establecidas sobre el cuerpo, la sexualidad y la reproducción dentro de una lógica que opera con los valores de la familia y del trabajo, propios del contexto sociocultural estudiado. El objetivo es enriquecer el repertorio existente sobre el entendimiento actual de los significados de la paternidad entre los hombres jóvenes, y de esta manera, contribuir al establecimiento de políticas públicas que efectivamente discutan y tengan como cuenta la lógica que guía sus prácticas en la vida sexual y reproductiva (AU)

The aim of this study was to understand the representations and meanings about the fatherhood of young men, through analysis the social codes of the sociocultural context in which they are inserted. This is a qualitative research. The young men were interviewed. Thematic analysis was conducted and data were analyzed by sentences. The meanings of fatherhood are tied to the representations and to the practices built on the body, the sexuality and the reproduction inside a logic that operates with the own values of the family and work of the sociocultural context. It is looked, so, to make the existent repertoire rich on the understanding of the senses of the fatherhood between young men and, for this road, to contribute to the establishment of public policies that effectively dialogue and that bases on the logic that orientates his practices around the sexual and reproductive life (AU)

O objetivo desta pesquisa é compreender as representações e os significados sobre a paternidade de homens jovens, por meio dos códigos sociais próprios ao contexto sociocultural no qual eles estão inseridos. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa na qual realizaram-se entrevistas semi-estruturadas com homens jovens da periferia da cidade de São Paulo, Brasil. Os sentidos da paternidade estão ligados às representações e às práticas construídas sobre o corpo, a sexualidade e a reprodução dentro de uma lógica que opera com os valores da família e do trabalho pró-prios ao contexto sociocultural no qual eles estão inseridos. Busca-se, assim, enriquecer o repertório existente sobre a compreensão dos sentidos da paternidade entre jovens e, por essa via, contribuir para o estabelecimento de políticas públicas que efetivamente dialogue e se baseie na lógica que orienta suas práticas em torno da vida sexual e reprodutiva (AU)