Body Image Issues Among Late Adolescent Boys

Background: Adolescence is the age where individuals undergo a lot of changes. Among the physiological, psychological, social changes, adolescents usually worry about the physical changes that takes place. The rapid changes in the body creates certain confidence in few; and uncertainty and self-doubt in few of the individuals. They are also in the process of creating an identity for themselves and understanding their changing bodies. The present study aimed to investigate the changes in the level of Body Image Issues among Adolescent Boys. Methodology: A purposive sampling of 30 adolescents across Karnataka state, were considered for the study. Body Image questionnaire tool was used. Kruskal Wallis test adopted for statistical analysis; done using SPSS version 22. Results: The mean scores for ages 16-, 17- and 18- years are 43.20, 62.90 and 56.70 respectively. And their corresponding standard deviations are 16.578, 31.328 and 23.262 respectively. The p value obtained is .203. Which indicates that there is no significant difference in the level of Body Image among late adolescent boys. Conclusion: The results indicate that the level of Body image is not significant among late adolescent boys

Comparison of Health status among married and unmarried girls of late adolescent age in an urban slum of Delhi

Background: Late adolescent girls are being forced into marriage and the burden of marital responsibilities, most notably partner’s sexual demands and childbearing and child-rearing, led to significant emotional distress and depression. Thus, early marriage for girls might have profound impact on their health status. Aims & Objectives: To study impact of early marriage on health status of married girls of late adolescent age and to compare them with unmarried girls of same age. Material & Methods: A comparison study was conducted among girls of late adolescent age in an urban slum of North East Delhi. One sixty study participants were included in each group. A pretested interview schedule was used for collecting details such as knowledge on reproductive health, physical parameters and anemic status. Chi square tests were used and odds ratio was calculated. Results: Majority of married girls, 102(63.8%) had middle school education while 93(58.1%) of unmarried girls had high school education. The mean (SD) age of marriage of married adolescent girls was 17(±) years while their husband age at time of marriage was 21.6(±) years. Levels of hemoglobin were low in both groups 87.5% in married girls and 98.75% in unmarried girls. Conclusion: Early marriage was found to have impact on menstruation, reproductive health and nutritional status of adolescent girls.

Perceptions about abortion among college going late adolescent girls of Ranchi Women’s College, Ranchi, Jharkhand - A pilot study

Background: Increase in teenage pregnancy and illegal abortion have become a major concern in India and understanding adolescent sexual behavior still remains a challenge. Nearly 60% of abortion in India is illegal. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess the level of knowledge about abortion among late adolescent girls (16–19 years). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Bachelor of Arts 1st year students of Ranchi Women’s College, Ranchi. It included girls in the age group of 16–19 years. The duration of the study was 3 months (August–October 2018). A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The descriptive statistics analysis includes percentage and mean with standard deviation. To assess the knowledge level scoring was done. Analysis of variance was done to test the difference in knowledge score. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional ethics committee and permission was then taken from the principal of Ranchi Women’s College. Results: A total of 71 students gave assent/consent. The mean age of study subjects was 18.25 (0.68) years. Every student had heard about abortion, but still 19 of them thought abortion to be illegal in India. Of 22 students who claimed to know the gestational age up to which abortion can be done, only 5.6% had correct knowledge. Regarding the place where abortion must be done, 40.8% answered correctly. Most of the respondents (39.4%) mentioned rape to be the condition for legal abortion followed by risk of child abnormality. The common complication is known as bleeding and infection. Friends were the most common source of information. Only 2.8% of girls had satisfactory knowledge, the average and low knowledge being present in 33.8% and 63.4% of girls, respectively. Conclusion: This study seeks to determine the existing knowledge of teenagers which was found to be very low. This calls researchers to explore the existing knowledge gap and ways to reduce it at early stage so that maximum could be benefitted from MTP act.

Level of stress perception and its predictors among school going Bengali late adolescents in a rural block of Eastern India

Background: As adolescents are in transit from childhood to adulthood, they are vulnerable to stress and related complications. Measuring stress and its influencing factors is a prerequisite for developing strategy for this age-group. Objective of the study was to assess the level of perceived stress among school going late adolescents and to find out its predictors.Methods: This cross-sectional analytical epidemiological study was conducted among the school going Bengali late adolescents (15-17 years) of a rural block of West Bengal, India within July 2017 to December 2017. Finally, 102 students of class IX and XI were selected via two stage simple random sampling method. Data were collected by interview using pre-designed, pre-tested, semi structured questionnaire including 10 points Cohen’s perceived stress scale (PSS-10). Independent ‘t’ test, ANOVA, Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis H test were utilized to establish the association between independent variables and PSS score. Independent variables found to be associated (p≤0.05) were considered in multiple linear regression to identify the predictors of stress.Results: Mean perceived stress score of participants were 16.8±3.7 (mean±2 SD) out of 40 (highest PSS score) with minimum and maximum score 8 and 26, respectively. In multiple linear regression, de-motivating comment, sibling pattern and love affair were found as predictors of stress perception among Bengali late adolescents. These factors collectively explained 15.6% variations of PSS score and individually contributed 3.8%, 5.6% and 6.2%, respectively.Conclusions: Stress can be alleviated by arranging motivational programme, counselling, and life skill education.

Could anemia be the reason for dysfunctional cognition.

Background: Studies claim that anemia at any time in life can hamper the metabolic processes and subsequently affect the cognitive and behavioral domain of an individual. Late-adolescent girls are one of the most vulnerable groups due to commencement of menstrual cycles, hormonal changes, nutritional deficits etc. It is also the time period where adolescents enter their professional careers in our country where cognition forms the basis of all the learning. This study was focused on seeing whether anemia affects the P300 wave which is a cognitive evoked potential. Methods: 74 girls of first and second year MBBS were chosen for this study. They were divided into two groups on basis of hemoglobin estimation by cyanmethemoglobin method. A comparative study was done of P300 latency and P300 amplitude between the two groups. Results: Comparison between the anemic group to the control group revealed: Latency of P300 was significantly delayed in the anemic group and amplitude was significantly higher in the control group. Conclusion: The results suggested a better cognitive performance of those having normal hemoglobin levels.

HIV-related sexual risk behaviours among late-adolescent Jamaican girls with older male partners / Comportamientos de riesgo sexual en relación con el VIH entre las adolescentes tardías jamaicanas con parejas masculinas de mayor edad

OBJECTIVE: To describe HIV-related sexual risk behaviours among late-adolescent Jamaican girls and examine whether having an age-discordant male sexual partner (> 2 years older) was associated with a decrease in condom use at last coitus. METHODS: Utilizing an expanded Theory of Planned Behaviour, a survey was designed to capture HIV-related sexual risk behaviours. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the final sample of one hundred and eighty-four late-adolescent girls (18-21 years) in Kingston, Jamaica. RESULTS: At first coitus, 70.3 per cent of the survey participants had done so with an older partner. At the time of the survey, 58.7 per cent of the sample reported being in an age-discordant relationship, with age differences between 2 and 39 years. While only 12 per cent of the sample reported having more than one sexual partner, 40 per cent of the sample reported that their older male partner had multiple sexual partners. Slightly more than half (58%) of late-adolescent girls reported condom use at last coitus. No significant differences were found in condom use between girls who had age-discordant partners and girls who had similar aged-partners. CONCLUSION: Sexual relationships with older male partners are common among late-adolescent Jamaican girls, and may put girls at risk for acquiring HIV through unprotected coitus and coitus with someone who has multiple partners. As Jamaica and the broader Caribbean struggle to curtail the emergent HIV epidemic among adolescent girls, age-discordant relationships are a significant area for research and prevention efforts of clinicians and public health professionals.

OBJETIVO: Describir los comportamientos de riesgo sexual relacionados con el VIH entre las muchachas jamaicanas adolescentes tardías, y examinar si el tener un companero sexual de edad discordante (> 2 años mayor) estaba o no asociado con la disminución del uso del condón en el último coito. MÉTODOS: Utilizando una teoria del comportamiento planificado extendida, se disenó una encuestapara registrar comportamientos de riesgo sexual en relación con el VIH. Se usaron estadísticas descriptivas e inferenciales a fin de analizar la muestra final de ciento ochenta y cuatro muchachas adolescentes tardías (18-21 anos) en Kingston, Jamaica. RESULTADOS: El primer coito, 70.3 por ciento de las participantes en la encuesta lo tuvieron con un companero de mayor edad. Al momento de la encuesta, 58.7 por ciento de la muestra informó hallarse en una relación de edad discordante, con diferencias de edad entre 2 y 39 anos. Mientras sólo 12 por ciento de la muestra informó tener más de un companero sexual, 40por ciento de la muestra informó que su pareja masculina de mayor edad tenia múltiples parejas sexuales. Casi más de la mitad (58%) de las adolescentes tardías reportaron uso del condón en el último coito. No se encontraron diferencias significativas en el uso del condón entre las muchachas con companeros de edad discordante y muchachas con parejas de edad similar. CONCLUSIÓN: Las relaciones sexuales con parejas masculinas de mayor edad, son comunes entre las muchachas jamaicanas adolescentes tardías. Estas relaciones pueden poner a las muchachas en riesgo de adquirir el VIH a través del coito no protegido y el coito con alguien que tiene múltiples parejas. En un momento en que Jamaica y la región del Caribe luchan por cortar el desarrollo de la epidemia de VIH entre las adolescentes, las relaciones de edades discordantes son un área significativa para los esfuerzos de investigación y prevención por parte de los médicos y los profesionales de la salud pública.

Recién nacidos de madres adolescentes precoces y tardías: ¿hay alguna diferencia? / Newborn from early and late pregnant adolescent

Introducción: los embarazos en la adolescencia llevan a situaciones que pueden atentar contra la salud de la madre, así como la del hijo, constituyendo un problema que no debe ser considerado solamente en los términos de hoy sino también para el futuro. Hay una gran preocupación en relación a la posibilidad de que la madre adolescente presente malos resultados prenatales. Objetivos: analizar características epidemiológicas y aspectos clínicos relevantes del recién nacido de madres adolescentes y comparar las variables analizadas entre las gestantes adolescentes precoces y tardías. Pacientes y métodos: en un estudio transversal, analítico, se evaluaron 2058 registros, siendo 322 del grupo de las precoces y 1736 las tardías, siendo las dos de la maternidad Escuela Assis Chateaubriand de la Universidad Federal de Ceará durante el periodo de un año. Resultados: del total de partos, en el periodo de un año, 26 por ciento eran adolescentes. El índice de prematurez fue de 16,7 por ciento (20,2 por ciento x 16,1por ciento, p = 0,069). El score de apgar 7 en el primer minuto fue 15,1por ciento (19,9 por ciento x 14,2 por ciento, p = 0,008). Otras variables: score de apgar en el quinto minuto, adecuando el peso a determinada edad de gestación malformaciones y muerte neo-natal presentaron índices bajos y sin una diferencia estadística entre los grupos. Conclusiones: no hubo diferencia estadísticamente significativa entre los grupos de edad entre las características de sus recién nacidos, contrariando afirmaciones bibliográficas.

Introduction: Teenage pregnancies can be an important problem for the health of the mother and the child, not only today but also for the future. Adolescent mothers have the possibility of poorly pre-natal outcome. Objective: We review relevant epidemiological and clinical aspects of newborn from pregnant adolescent and compare the early and late pregnant adolescents. Patients and methods: In a transversal, analytic study, we evaluated 322 early pregnant adolescent and 1736 late pregnant adolescent from the Assis Chateaubriand Maternity Hospital of the Federal University of Ceará during one year. Results In one year, 26 percent of the pregnant were teenagers. The pre-maturity rate was 16.7 percent (20.2 percent vs 16.1percent, p = 0.069). The Apgar score of 7 in the first minute was 15.1 percent (19.9 percent x 14.2 percent, p = 0.008). Other variables: Apgar score in the fifth minute, the birth weight to a given gestational age, birth and neonatal death rate, showed no statistical difference between groups. Conclusions: There was no statistically significant difference between age groups between the characteristics of their newborns, contrary to literature statements.