LAUSR

This qualitative study explores how adolescents’ emotional experiences drive their sexual practices and health-seeking behaviours in Fiji. Fourteen focus group discussions with 15–19-year-olds and 40 key informants’ interviews with health workers, educators, government and NGO workers, and religious leaders were conducted. Our findings show that emotional experiences such as shame, embarrassment, expression of love, and intimacy are shaped by the socio-cultural context and were reported by our participants as drivers of their sexual practices and health-seeking behaviours such as condom use and accessing services and support. Based on our findings, we argue that more attention should be paid to emotional well-being when developing sexual and reproductive health policies, programmes, and services and offer recommendations of how to do so.