Objective:

to identify the structure and organization of social representations about dating built by the adolescents who are recognized in this context.

Method:

this is a descriptive research, based on the Central Core Theory of social representations. A free word association test was applied with 106 female adolescents of the city of Rio de Janeiro / Brazil. Software- EVOC processed the evocations, generating a chart corresponding to the probable representation structure.

Results:

The central nucleus was composed of the elements of love, kiss and sex. The peripheral system is more frequently characterized by: friendship, happiness, betrayal, marriage, understanding and loyalty.

Conclusion:

Feelings of love and trust in the couple foster a sense of risk-free sexual health, which means that they have a predominantly affective representation and, therefore, the use of barrier methods for sexually transmitted infections is undervalued.