The style of mothering and its determinants: a study among mothers of lower primary school children

Background: The first teacher and everlasting support for a child is his/her mother. Mother–child bonds remain so strongly throughout one’s life in spite of the changing times and complexities of life. Literature suggests that elements of warmth and control from parents, especially mothers positively correlated with achievement and intellectual orientation in children. Objectives were to assess the various styles of mothering and its determinants in mothers of children studying in lower primary schools and residing in Adat panchayat, Thrissur, Kerala.Methods: A community based descriptive study was conducted among 315 mothers of lower primary school children residing in Adat panchayat, Thrissur. Data was collected using Parental Authority Questionnaire.Results: Mean age of mothers was 31.9 years. 73% mothers were practicing predominantly authoritative parenting style, 24% were authoritarian and only 3% were permissive style. The type of family and current age of mothers were significantly associated with the style of mothering. Mothering style did not differ with the gender of children. Occupation of mothers had a significant difference in proportion of parenting styles. The working status of either or both parents significantly influenced the mothering styles.Conclusions: Most mothers followed predominantly authoritative style. Responsive and demanding behaviour of mothers vary significantly with respect to type of family, current age and employment status.

Awareness and practices regarding menarche in adolescent school going girls of Thrissur educational district

Background: Menarche is one important milestone in during adolescence. Many of girls experience menarche even before they are considered as adolescents. Unfortunately, many parents do not provide adequate information to the girls prior to menarche, because they consider it culturally inappropriate.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 432 adolescent girls in high school classes of Thrissur educational district. The participants were selected from six schools, two each of government, private and aided schools. A Self-Administered structured questionnaire was used for data collection after validation by pilot study. Data was collected on socio-demographic variables and awareness and practices regarding menarche Statistical analysis was done using SPSS statistical software version 23.Results: The age of attaining menarche ranged 7 to 14 years, with the mean age being 12.06 years SD=0.972.More than one-fourth of the girls 28.7% did not have prior knowledge about menstruation at the time of menarche. The major source of information about menstruation was the mother 68.8%, followed by friends 19.2%. Majority 61.3% of the subjects had correct knowledge regarding the cause of menstruation. More than half of the respondents 53.7% missed school days during menarche.Conclusions: The knowledge regarding menstruation was good for adolescent girls when compared to other studies in India. Awareness programs on adolescent girls must be developed and promoted at an early age prior to menarche. Mothers should be educated as they are an important source of information to their daughters.

A study on mosquito density in rural Kerala before and after floods

Background: Mosquito borne diseases are a major public health problem in Kerala. Mosquito density assessed by larval surveys is easier and quicker to perform. The larval indices are an important practical predictor of outbreaks of mosquito borne disease and are valuable in taking preventive measures. This study is done to calculate standardized larval indices namely house index, container index and Breteau index and to identify the major breeding sources of mosquitoes in the residential environment in a rural of Thrissur, Kerala.Methods: A cross-sectional study selecting 80 houses from 1 wards of Konnikara village under Thrikkur Panchayath under the field practice area of rural training centre, Amala Institute of Medical Sciences Thrissur. Every water holding container indoors and outdoors was counted and searched for larval presence and noted on a pretested format.Results: In this study, 80 houses were surveyed in 2 days initially in June and in September. All the entomological indices were found to be above the critical level in the initial survey in June. House index=36% container index=44%; Breteau index=143% showing high chances for outbreaks of mosquito borne diseases. In September though the indices were very low house index 1.25% container index 2.77% and Breteau index.Conclusions: The area is prone for mosquito borne disease outbreaks like dengue fever and after interventions the vector indices and potential risks came down