Assessment of self-awareness among rural adolescents: A cross-sectional study

CONTEXT: Adolescence is a period of biological, cognitive and social transition of such magnitude and rapidity that it is no surprise to find that it is associated with the onset or exacerbation of a number of health-related problems. It is the level of self-awareness among adolescents, which enables them to see where their thoughts and emotions take them. AIMS: The aim of this study was to assess the extent of awareness regarding adolescent changes/problems among school going adolescents. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: It was a cross-sectional study and was carried out in Block Beri, District, Jhajjar (Haryana). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of 320 adolescent students of 9(th)-12(th) classes (80 from each school) were selected from four randomly chosen large Government senior secondary schools with strength of more than 250 students (two girls and two boys/co-ed senior secondary schools). Data were collected on predesigned, pre-tested and semi-structured schedules by conducting in-depth interviews of selected study adolescents by the investigator. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Percentages, proportions, Chi-square test, Chi-square test with Yate's correction and t-test. RESULTS: Out of 320, 212 (66.3%) study adolescents were aware of at least one adolescent change(s) whereas, when probed and further asked to enumerate the changes taking place in them, 272/320 (85%) adolescents could narrate at least one such change. Out of those 272, 24 (8.82%) (95% CI 6.0-12.79) adolescents either did not consider these changes as normal or they did not know whether the changes were normal or abnormal. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents greatly lack correct information related to their bodies’ physiological, psychological and sexual changes. There is an urgent need for regular adolescent friendly information, education and communication activities covering different aspects of adolescent knowledge needs/problems.