Profile of young people assisted during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the “Virando o Jogo Project – Youth and Overcoming”, in Northeast Brazil

Introduction:  The project “Virando o Jogo – Juventude e Superação” (PVOJ), located in Fortaleza, Ceará, supports youth who are neither studying nor working, by enabling socioeducational and professional qualification experiences that encourage a return to the school environment.

Objective:  To present the profile of youth admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic by psychologists and social workers, in addition to outlining the main reasons for seeking these services.

Method:  Descriptive study with secondary data from 981 youth registered on the JotForms platform. The Bioecological Model, associated with the Big Five Theory, was used to evaluate the follow-up of youth assisted by psychologists and social workers in both editions, with a total of 1,926 individual consultations.

Results:  Participants’ mean age was 18–19 years, they were mostly single women, with 56.4 and 61.2%, respectively (1^st and 2^nd editions), and Brown 62.9 and 64.3%. Main reasons for attendance: having suffered or currently being a victim of sexual abuse or exploitation (2.8 and 1.4%), mental health demands such as suicidal ideation (3.2 and 4.4%); feelings of deep sadness, with symptoms of depression (8.9 and 7.6%).

Conclusion:  The youth show serious signs of low self-esteem and emotional disorders, with high levels of social vulnerabilities. The project reaches the public that needs psychosocial support.

Keywords:
youth; epidemiology; program evaluation; adolescent; covid-19