OBJECTIVE: To identify adolescents' impressions about what could represent a passage ritual. METHODS: This descriptive study was performed with 751 adolescents, of both genders, with ages between 12 and 20 years, who attended three public primary and secondary level schools in the Santo Eduardo region in the municipality of Embu, Sao Paulo state. RESULTS: After the content analysis, the following categories were revealed: physical changes; psychological changes (subcategories: responsibility, experiences, conflicts); social changes (subcategories: social identity, social body, interrelationships); sexual behavior (subcategories: sexual interest; sexual intercourse); traumatic factors (subcategories: feeling of lost, mourning for the lost childhood); independence. CONCLUSION: The passage rituals are directly related to the body changes, a product of adolescence, which are marking and significant occurrences in one's life.
Adolescent; Adolescent behavior; Colletive health
