AVANCES DE INVESTIGACION

ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS IN CHILEAN ADOLESCENTS: A necessary emotional dimension in human devolepment¹

Alejandro Villalobos Clavería

Profesor Asociado, Universidad de Concepción, Facultad de Educación, Depto. Ciencias de la Educación, Chile. E-mail: avillalo@udec.cl

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Abstract

This work questions the current programs of sexuality and adolescent affectivity education of the Chilean school system, since the existence of romantic relationships is not considered as a previous dimension and basic substratum of the subsequent affective development of the human being. In understanding this problem, the model of the triangular theory of Sternberg and its heuristic categories are assumed.

In this study, an analysis of the emotional relationships of adolescents in the Biobío region is presented, through the application of a questionnaire with 38 questions to a sample of students from district and subsidized schools. The results let affirm that affective, idealized and without major sexual-erotic commitment aspects are predominant.

It is expected that the product of this study will help redirect this process; Hence, there is a need for an educational, guiding, formative and integral view, aimed at strengthening the development of high school students, where current sexuality and affectivity programs do not respond to their youth needs and concerns according to the stage of discovery and growth in which these subjects are.

Keywords: Love; adolescent; teenager; guiding education; affectivity; sexual education.

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The context of the study

In the last 50 years, Chilean society has experienced great tensions and conflicts in its socio-cultural development that have impacted the school system. For example, the increase in enrolment and its massification, the incorporation of someexcluded social sectors, the increase in years of compulsory education, the search for certification of labour competencies of its graduates, as well as, the technological expansion (computers, cell phones, etc.), the digitalization of national customs and/or their replacement by technological methods, the search of the transformation of the didactic practice, the change of study habits of scholars, etc. All of which has been generating a dysfunctional, critical and full of uncertainty environment for the members of the school community, which is recognized in a bad coexistence, teen pregnancy, drugs, alcoholism which, paradoxically, the social media is responsible for distributing and exaggerating. Situation that is also evident in the early sexual development of a large number of teenager students, who usually start their sexual life without the presence of romantic aspects, typical of an emotional relationship. This hypothesis has motivated the execution of the present study, either to confirm said educational policy or to refute it.

However, the current situation of this study evidences the recognition of the guiding work that is required in the classrooms, but also in the need to offer a more comprehensive, value-based and human perspective that is associated with a pedagogical approach to emotions,as a more pertinent and contextualized paradigm to this post millennium generation.

Love as a human dimension has been a concern, not only of poets, writers and lovers, but also of philosophers, theologians and scientists. In this sense, the feeling of love has been the central motive of innumerable studies, research and reflections that are impossible to address in its entirety, but which is recognized in the personal and intrapersonal experience of those who experience (or suffer from) it. No one has been able to escape its influence and for many authors it has been the engine or final explanation of the various situations that are recognized in human life, whether on a personal, group or collective level (Badiou, 2011).

This same attitude is recognized in the emotional and spiritual development of the adolescent subjects, where there is plenty of life diaries, love letters never sent, poems, short stories and stories that represent the love, passion and love encounter of two people who come together to complement each other. But this situation is not without difficulties or confusions, either because it is very personal and private or because it is not clear about the nature and magnitude of the expression of love.

In this process of self-understanding of love, the teenager reads books, romantic novels, tales of princes, fairies and vampires; they also look for poetry, myths, legends, or tragedy, aspects or facets that help them understand this initial feeling. At the same time, they watch movies, listen to music, go to talks about sex education, talk and ask about their love concerns, about the sexual dimension, formulate life projects in common with that dream person, or search for information on the internet. This is the romantic dimension of adolescent love, the main reason for this investigation.

In spite of all this, the accumulation of information, data and theories, adolescents continue with doubts, confusions and uncertainties about the nature and sense of love, so end up asking or seeking advice in significant adults in their environment, whether in the parents, teachers, friends, siblings, neighbours, guidance counsellor or school psychologist, priest or pastor of their establishment, among others.

By the way, this is the context of the present study that seeks to understand and analyze the current problematic of emotional and sexual development of Chilean adolescents, a concern that arises from the guiding action of teachers when it comes to educate their students in affectivity and sexuality, within of a quality, comprehensive and inclusive educational approach. Incomplete challenge when the existence of a romantic love in young people is not recognized the main substrate for the subsequent emotional and sexual development of the individual. Main thesis of this work.

Problem statement

Today there is a need to guide adolescents in the emotional and sexual field, since at this stage there are concerns about love and sex, which subsequently define the sexual identity of each individual.

In the educational establishments, the head teacher, who is a guidance counsellor for her or his students, often does not have the right tools and time to advisestudents in this process of transit to maturity, despite the indications of public policies about these areas and specific programs about these youth issues.

It is estimated that such pedagogical initiatives do not respond to teenage concerns, as they do not spell out a stimulating factor of the affective and sexual expression of adolescents, as it is the romantic factor of the love relationship. Situation that poses as problematic this pedagogical challenge and at the same time, the search of new diagnoses that focus the intervention in this area. Condition justifying the present study.

In other words, this research aims to answer the following questions: Can another pathbe promoted for comprehension and guiding action towardsyouth sexuality development issues? Is there in young students an own or idealized vision of young love? What is the image of love that Chilean teenage students have in the Biobio region? Can the romantic manifestation of teenagers be understood according to Sternberg’s triangular theory?

Conceptual and empirical background

Love is one of the most complex and important emotions for a person and, perhaps, the main reason when giving meaning to human existence.

For philosophers and theologians, love is a term "to designate activities, or the effect of very diverse activities." Love is seen, as the case may be, as an inclination, as affection, an appetite, a passion, an aspiration, etc. It is also seen as a quality, as a property, a relationship. It is spoken of various forms of love: physical or sexual love, maternal love, love as friendship, love to the world, love to God, etc.” (Ferrater Mora, 1994:133)

In all these cases there is a relationship between the subject in love and the loved one that justifies said love and complements it for both. New meanings of the concept of love have been associated with this primary relationship.

Some examples of love or a romantic relationship are: passionate love, love of nature, physical love, vain love, love of country, love of money, love of animals, erotic love, carnal love, love of food, love of comfort, charitable love, love of children, friends, etc.

In short, it is the love or affections of the person, a true support to face the variations of the life of an individual. When a person loves or is loved, he or she assumes a different view of reality, with more strength, motivation for achievement and serenity in his or her daily work. Circumstance that is lived in the early stages of human life, particularly in adolescence, where the first affective relationships have a romantic and preparatory character for the subsequent sentimental, affective and sexual expression of young people.

By the way, it is expected that in adolescence, the formation of couples will help to consolidate social skills, by reaffirming their personal identity and therefore, generating emotional support to face the process towards maturity (Furman, 2002; Sorensen, 2019).

It is spoken of romantic relationships in adolescence when physical contact predominates, based on hugs, kisses, caresses, but without or with a low sexual relationship. Nonetheless, there is a lot of meeting, dialogue and timeshare between the couple or the peer group, which usually causes the first couple conflicts (Sanchez, Ortega, & Viejo, 2008; Connolly, Craig, Goldberg, & Pepler, 2004).

In this type of emotional relationship, feelings, affection and concern for the other predominate. That is why a romantic relationship is necessarily a sentimental relationship, which is inserted within a process of idealization and search for the desired couple (Connolly, Craig, Goldberg, & Pepler, 1999).

On a conceptual level, one of the authors who have stood out in the understanding of the love phenomenon is Robert Sternberg who proposes a triangular model of love: intimacy, passion and commitment. Factorial and analytical theory that can be applied to the object of study of this research, since it manages to identify the main components of love action (Serrano Martínez & Carreño Fernández, 1993)

Sternberg in his book "The triangle of love: intimacy, passion and commitment" (1988) proposes a new way of conceptualizing the love that arises in an interpersonal relationship. In this way, he conceives love as the result of the interrelation of three components: intimacy, passion and commitment.

1. The intimacy: It is understood as the creation of a shared space as a couple; situation resulting from the existence of a feeling that promotes mutual approach, the construction of an interpersonal bond and the desire to give and receive affection and being together. The verbs that graph this type of relationship are: give, receive, share, communicate, feel, etc.

2. Passion: it represents the moment that allows the union with the other person, where the emotional, loving, and sexual desire for the couple is expressed. There is a strong need to feel and give erotic and sexual love, as well as to experience romantic and spiritual feelings of deep communication and self-giving to the other person. It is usually accompanied by great psychological excitement, nervous and human complementary.

3. Commitment: Corresponds to the decision to love the other person and to accept the responsibility that comes with the care and maintenance of said relationship. This decision implies maintaining the romance at all times, whether in the good or bad moments that are lived.

These three dimensions can be schemed in a triangle or a matrix of combinations of called dimensions, to evaluate and understand the type of love experienced by couples in love. Situation that can help in couples counselling and in their guidance intervention.

From the different combinations (intimacy, passion and commitment) seven different forms of love can be generated; conceptualization that can be very useful and interesting to apply in the work of guidance counsellor and training of educational establishments. These new forms of love are described below:

1. Friendship (intimacy): It is the closeness that is experienced when the intimacy or liking is shared. Feelings of passion or commitment are not present, only a closeness that is recognized in true friendships, where there is a bond and a manifestation of affection, without erotic or sexual connotation. 

2. Infatuation (passion): It is the overflowing lust and usually corresponds to love at first sight. No commitment or prior intimacy is recognized in the couple. It can be transformed into a temporary or momentary sexual relationship, without consequences for this type of couple.

3. Empty Love (commitment): It can be recognized by the union of a couple by some kind of commitment (family, work, social, economic, etc.), where there is no passion a true intimacy among the couple. It usually occurs in arranged marriages, forced couples, couples that have been together for a long time, or couples under a wearing process in their coexistence, because there is only empty love.

4. Romantic Love (passion and intimacy): Romantic couples can be recognized by the love and passion of their union, there is bond supported in the emotion that causes intimacy (affection) and passion (physical contact), but there is no commitment to be together forever. Usually it occurs in summer loves, they are short-term relationships

5. Companionate Love (intimacy and commitment): they are couples or marriages that have a great love and commitment to be together, but where there is no passion. It represents the need to be together to share life and avoid loneliness. It is also often confused with the feelings caused by a deep and true friendship or in family ties; in both there is no passion or sexual desire.

6. Fatuous Love (passion and commitment): corresponds to couples who tend to emphasize the value of commitment and the overflowing passion that arises at a certain time and place; however, there is no intimacy or closeness necessary to give formality or stability to that relationship.

7. Consummate Love (intimacy, passion and commitment): It represent the ideal love, it is the complete and global form of love that allows maximum happiness and fulfilment of the members of the couple. It is usually the maximum aspiration of couples, but few achieve it. Perhaps, the greatest difficulty of this type of love is represented by the care that must be taken in its realization, since it can be transformed into a sociable love or an empty love.

In sum, Sternberg (1986) with his triangular theory of love points out that the relations of couples are constituted under triad logic where these three dimensions are present, which can vary according to the history of the couple. Situation that helps explain the possible conflicts and problems that arises in the romantic life of a couple in love, of which the romantic or sexual partners of today's adolescents do not escape.

Methodological aspect and instrument³

The present study assumes a qualitative nature, seeking the understanding of the feeling of love in young adolescents, who are studying in an educational establishment in the province of Concepcion, Biobío region (Chile).

In the design and construction of the instrument, the conceptual categories of the triangular model of love of Stenberg (1986 and 1988) were applied, looking for all questions asked were associated with one of its components, that is, if the question raised was of a nature relative to intimacy, passion and commitment.

The instrument assumed the format of a survey that was applied online through the Survey Monkey platform, with a total of 38 different questions referring to affective, sexual, value and attitudinal aspects, seeking to characterize the experience of these young people alongside the thematic under study.

It should be noted that this instrument had a validation of judges (three experts in orientation, psychology and pedagogy), but also a pilot application (two selected students), in order to determine its relevance, validity and applicability in said target population of the study. Subsequently, the optimized questionnaire was applied to the selected sample of students from educational establishments in the Biobío region of Chile, during the month of April 2017. The selected subjects were invited to participate in the study, guaranteeing respect, confidentiality and anonymity of their responses.
           
The answers were grouped into categories to find trends, in order to describe adolescent behaviour versus the problem under study. By the way, the tabulation of their results only sought to describe trends or identify relevant aspects of the problem under study, in order to facilitate the interpretation and understanding of the data obtained.

Results

The application of the online survey allowed obtaining these results, which were grouped in the following dimensions:

a) Biographic description of the sample
           
The participants were 48 people, with 77.0% are women (37 students) and 22.9% are man (11), with a 93% between the ages of 15 and 17. The majority identify themselves as Catholic (38.3%), 23.4% are Evangelicals, 2.1% are Adventist and 4.3% are Mormons.
           
According to the type of administration that the educational establishment of the students consulted has, 58.3% comes from private subsidized institutions and 41.6% are from district high schools. On this occasion, students from paid private schools were not contacted.
           
98% of the students are in high school education, a figure that is distributed by grades in the following data: first year corresponds to 10.4%, second year corresponds to 37.5%, third and fourth year, to a 25%, respectively.
           
b) Categorization and grouping of the answers obtained:
           
A number of frequencies of choice and a weighted average to rank the answers given were applied, seeking to discover trends and a global view of what was consulted. Given the sample size and the selection of the participants, no statistical instruments were applied for a quantitative analysis of the results.
           
The data obtained were grouped into large interpretive categories of the study: intimacy, passion and commitment, according to the analytical perspective of Robert Stenberg (1986), about love.
           
1. - Intimacy: It refers to the origin of the shared love space of the young couple, where the existence of some common elements allow characterize this dimension in a teenage couple. Therefore, there are references of a corporal, psychological and social nature that help to understand the romantic expression of a young couple.
           
In this category the following questions were raised:

a) What do you notice when you start a love relationship? The results obtained are grouped into the following indicators, which were ordered in a decreasing manner, according to a weighted average. In the gaze (2.73), as he/she speaks (2.67), in his/her body odour (2.63), intelligence (2.56), the way he/she writes (2.10), in the physicist (2.08), clothing (2.04), in resources (1.33) and popularity (1.23), the maximum score being 5.0.
           
b) What types of things do you share with your partner? The elements that unite a couple are: Fun, Food, Music, Tastes, Cinema, Problems, Studies, Travel, Fears, Schoolwork, Sport, Gigs, in that order of preferences.
           
c) If you have a problem with your partner, whether in the emotional or in an intimacy field, who do you turn to? Sorted in a decreasing manner according to the given categories, the following people were chosen: Friends, Mother, Siblings, Father, Medical service (midwife), Pastor or priest, Counsellor, Teacher. Note the last places assigned to teachers, a reason for further reflection and study.
           
d) Do you consume any harmful substance with your partner? The answers were ordered according to the degree of importance given. First: alcohol; second option: marijuana; and finally: cigar. The consumption of chemical stimulants (aerosols, medications, etc.) is not recognized.
           
e) Do you feel attracted to people of your same sex? 75% say they are not attracted to a person of the same sex; 16.6% respond affirmatively, and 8.3% do not know what to answer. Answers that can stimulate the adoption of a sexual orientation perspective in education.
           
f) In the face of the eventual dating violence, two questions were raised: one of a psychological nature and another of a physical nature. The first refers to whether when dating “does your partner make you suffer?” 72.3% of the participants indicated no; 10.6% say yes; and 17.0% say they don't know. The second refers to whether during dating “do you feel that your partner attacks you?” 84.7% say no; but 6.5% say yes; and a group of 8.7% says they don't know. These aspects indicate the need to improve the communication skills of student couples.

2. - The passion: it is the moment that allows the union with the other person, where the emotional, loving, and sexual desire for the couple is usually expressed. However, in the romantic love of adolescents, these indicators are associated with the pleasure of being together, the happiness they experience, the expressions of affection, jealousy, the number of emotional experiences, among other indicators of a youth passion.
           
Like the previous category, several questions were raised that sought to dimension the beginning, development and expression of passionate love in young people. Aspects that are described below 

a) At what age did you have your first love experience? Approximately 75% of respondents had their first love relationship before age 15. On the other hand, as stated by some who start at age 8, increasing the figures between 12 and 14 years of age. Subsequently, only very few declare that between the ages of 16 and 19 it was the period of the beginning of a romance.
           
b) How many love relationships / experiences have you had to date? Most of the young people consulted refer to two and three experiences achieved so far, but 73% say they have not had sex with their partner. Interesting fact that may reflect a religious formation, mentioned above.
           
c) How do you maintain a romantic relationship? The answers obtained refer to certain affective expressions, which are ordered in a decreasing manner in: Demonstrating affection and interest in the other person. For the happiness of being together and sharing a common project. For friendship or habit of being together. For the pleasure of being together, without commitment. For a social or family commitment (to preserve appearances). For a passing passion (summer love). By rebellion or caprice, in the last place.
           
d) Regarding the happiness experienced, two questions arose. The first, about the intensity of feeling: when you have been in a love relationship, do you recognize yourself in love? 56.5% of the consulted subjects indicate yes; but, 15.2% say no, and another 28.2% say they don't know. Figures indicating the need for guidance and / or a counselling program for these young people. A second question was about happiness: are you happy while dating? 89.3% of the answers state that they are happy; 2.1% say no; and 8.5% who do not know. These last figures are also interesting for the guiding action of the head teacher.
           
e) About the pleasure of being together, Do you fully enjoy being with your boyfriend/girlfriend? A large number (86.9%) indicates yes; but 4.3% indicates no; and 8.7% say you don't know it. Also other associated question was: Do you like to write romantic things to your boyfriend/girlfriend? 63% respond affirmatively; on the other hand, 36.9% answered in a negative way.
           
f) On the certainty of being in love, young people are consulted: In your relationship, do you feel jealous for your boyfriend/girlfriend? The answers indicate yes, with 44.6%; On the other hand, those who do not feel jealous for their partner constitute 36.1%. They do not know or do not respond: it is 19.5%.

Finally, a third category referred to the commitment that involves a relationship.
            
3. - The commitment: represents the decision to love the other person and to accept the responsibility that comes with the care and maintenance of said relationship. For teenagers in love, it implies the ability to project themselves in the near future; the attitude, admiration and projection that the other provokes; the commitment of fidelity that is assumed and the respect that is had in this romantic relationship; among other possible indicators to study.
           
In the same way that in the previous categories a series of questions were asked to know their opinion on these aspects under study.            

a) If you were dating or you currently are, what are your projections for your hypothetical or current relationship? The results were also grouped in decreasing form according to a weighted average: Doing a business together, they have no projections, having a child, Marriage, Living together, studying together, and playing sports together, Traveling together.
           
b) The attitude he assumes in front of others: Do you usually introduce your boyfriend/girlfriend? Everyone responds that they do it, but sorted according to degree of preference, the answers are ranked according to order of preference, firstly: Friends; then: the Parents; followed by: the Siblings; then the classmates; and finally, the relationship tends to be published on Facebook, among other important results.
           
c) Fidelity as part of a commitment was questioned in two questions. One, while being in a romantic relationship, have you cheated on your partner or would you cheat if you were in one? 77.0% state that they have not cheated on their partner, and only 22.9% confirm that they have cheated on their respective partner. Interesting fact that can be related to the second question, when asked if: Do you think that in a romantic relationship it is important to be faithful? 91.6% of the sample says yes; 2.0% say no, and 6.2% say they don't know or don't want to answer. Interesting figures that can help a subsequent comparative analysis of a young love relationship.
           
d) The importance of your partner is reflected in the following questions: one, the concern for the other is reflected when your partner is sad and does everything in your hands to reverse this situation. An absolute majority shows great interest in what happens to their partner, and only 2.1% indicate that they do not. By the way, there are no negative answers about it. Another question in this regard refers to the attitude of the other in front of you, when a decision must be made, does your boyfriend/girlfriend consider your opinion? 84.4% said yes; 2.2% not; and there is a 13.3% who do not know. In this double look, differences in the perception that both members have regarding the love relationship are recognized.
           
e) The evidence of the commitment is recognized in the existence of respect as a value aspect of the relationship, when asked: Would you start a romantic relationship with your friend's girlfriend? 89.5% say No; 8.3% indicate that maybe; and 2.0% say yes.
           
f) About the recognition and admiration of the couple, three issues arise. Thus, regarding the admiration for the other person, it is asked: Are you proud of your boyfriend/girlfriend? 82.6% say yes; and 17.3% say no. When trying to know about the eventual social recognition of the other person, it is asked: Do you like taking pictures with your boyfriend/girlfriend to publish them on social networks? The majority with 55.3% say no; and 45.6% say yes. Aspects that, perhaps, are related to the fear of losing your boyfriend/girlfriend? where a majority (with 56.5%) say they are afraid of losing their partner; a group under 13% indicate that they do not have that fear; but another group, with 30.4%, responds that it has no conscience or does not know if it has that fear.
           
g) Finally, about the seriousness and maturity to face couple relationships, they are asked the following popular saying among young people. "If you have not found your ideal partner, then take your time with the ones available" How do you agree with the previous saying? 72% of students say they disagree or strongly disagree with that statement, and only 28% say they agree or strongly agree. Data that help to understand a more traditional vision of the young love relationship.

As a theorization
           
The different trends obtained in these data resulting from the study, allow initiating a theoretical formulation of the question studied. In these first couples relationships we seek to understand the meaning of love; situation that causes doubts, anguish and uncertainty to know if the chosen person is the right one. It should be noted that in the Ibero-American environment there are not many studies in this regard. However, in a research carried out in Puerto Rico, by Ruth Nina Estrella (2011), love is defined in terms of psychological, value and social aspects, but whose semantic attribution is differentiated in men and women, interesting aspects for this research.
          
Usually it is talked of an education in sexuality in young people, which promotes responsibility, self-knowledge and respect in the couple, but there is no talk of the development of affectivity, the feeling of love and the care that must be taken in front of the couple. There is only an emphasis on sexual (and reproductive) rights and not on the desires, passion, commitment and intimacy involved in the sexual exercise of the human being.
           
In this sense, youth love is respect, affection, happiness, sensitivity, sincerity and passion. All aspects highly valued that are in a relationship and shared by both genders.
           
“However, the hierarchical order established by each of the genders was different. For the females, respect assumes first place, while for males it is in third place. On the other hand, the love is identified in the first place for males, contrary to the female participants that place love in the ninth place ”(Nina Estrella, 2011).

The teenager needs to learn to differentiate and identify their love and erotic feelings. In this construction of their sexual orientation, they need to identify their desire, attraction, fondness, sexual pleasure, and the type of sexual orientation they have, whether of a heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual identity.

           
“As for the elements that were not common, the female adolescents expressed confidence, love, fidelity, and honesty; while male adolescents considered aspects such as friendship, god, truth and peace” (Nina Estrella, 2011).

During this process of construction of sexual identity, the adolescent requires help, understanding and support that through the counselling work of the head teacher, counsellor or psychologist can be facilitated during this transition to personal maturity.

It should be noted that a minority of young people today has not internalized the concept of love, respect for himself/herself and his/her partner, as well as the values and norms that govern life as a couple, which may eventually escalate to the emergence of violence and conflict of a young couple. Situation that leads to transforming the type of initial feeling, predominant, in the relationship of young couple, ending the sentimental relationship.
           
Therefore, today an education for affectivity and responsible sexuality is required for the world of adolescents, but without forgetting that youth romantic relationships are the basis of future adult affective – sexual relationships, where Sternberg's triangle theory (1986), turns out to be very suitable to initiate a process of sexual and affective orientation in students of the national high school education.
           
In raising this theorization, it is also sought to address the growing problems of youth couples associated with violence, conflict, aggression and harassment in these young adolescents who aspire to have the best love experiences during high school. Challenge that can help to understand the complexity of this problem in the integral development of young Chileans.
            
In this context, a guiding perspective is required to help the formative work of the guidance teacher in front of these young adolescents who experience the feeling of love for the first time. Perhaps, putting formative emphasis on the romantic aspects of the love relationship allows us to offer a better perspective of self-understanding in young people in love.

Challenges and conclusions
            
By recognizing that national educational policies have been directed at promoting education for responsible sexuality in young people, but that they do not recognize, or do not talk about, the preliminary romantic feeling of a romantic nature, of the affections that arise in the couple, of shared space that is created in the couple or their future projection, then it cannot be reached a higher level of love according to the conceptualization of Sternberg, (1988), because it lacks some of its fundamental components.
            
By the way, the application of the triangular model of Sternberg, (1986 and 1988), in juvenile love relationships helps to consolidate a loving relationship; therefore, if there is no basis that transcends erotic or sexual factors, it is not possible to establish a lasting relationship.
           
As the young couple is focused on sexual exploration, and not on the consolidation of the love feeling, various problems and conflicts arise that hinder their own trajectory. Thus, for example, acts of violence, drug use, sexually transmitted diseases, lack of respect and commitment to the other, lack of affection and sincere demonstration of affection, jealousy, etc. all situations of violence that distort the nature of the feeling of love when there is no true affectivity.
           
In sum, this study can be a pedagogical challenge that helps the teacher, within the promotion of the whole development of the adolescent student, to guide and give formative opportunities to grow in a profitable environment that characterizes the search for genuine love in the teenagers.
           
By changing the formative emphasis of education in responsible sexuality and affectivity for another one that is an education for responsible affectivity and sexuality in adolescent students, better opportunities can be given for the future formation of more stable, balanced and enriching relationships of couples of young people who live in the present century.

Notas

1. Article partially presented in the III CONGRESO IBEROAMERICANO DE ORIENTACION. “Voces de la Orientación en Iberoamericana”. Córdoba, November 15th to17th 2018. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina.

2. Study developed collaboratively with Prof. Ángela Estrada Cuevas, student of the master’s program in education at Universidad de Concepción.

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