Sexual and Reproductive Health and Young People: A Social Science Approach

This chapter focuses on how a social science approach can be used to examine global sexual and reproductive health issues. Much focus has been given to the use of a medical or positivist science approach to examine sexual health issues, which tend to have a clinical focus. Therefore, this chapter aims to highlight a different type of insight garnered by analyzing global sexual and reproductive health issues using the social sciences. A social science approach to sexual and reproductive health can uncover the sociocultural patterns of health issues in varied populations and the ways to prevent or address them. This chapter begins by discussing the origins of health sociology and the insights of applying a social construction lens to understand sexual and reproductive health. Next, the chapter considers sexual and reproductive health as human rights through a cross-cultural perspective. It proposes the need to decolonize research approaches to sexual and reproductive health and rights. Finally, the chapter presents an illustrative case study that uses Participatory Action Research (PAR) as a social science method to understand migrant and refugee youths’ social constructions of sexual and reproductive health and rights. Reflections on the case study are discussed regarding the incentives, participant retention, transfer of control, managing expectations, and personnel challenges to engage youth in long-term PAR projects on sensitive topics. The lessons learned from this case study provide insight into using social methods to better understand, support, and improve marginalized groups’ experiences of sexual and reproductive health.