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Sexual matters among teenagers.

ABSTRACT: In the complex developmental period of puberty, adolescents experience biophysical changes and adapt to societal and cultural expectations of adulthood. Development of their sexuality is an important biopsychosocial change during this period that, when neglected, may result in unmet sexual and reproductive health needs. Patterns of behaviour in adolescence have repercussions across the lifespan. HEADSSS (home, education/employment/eating, activities, drugs, sexuality, sleep, suicide/depression and safety) is a systematic clinical screening tool for use with adolescents. Adolescents may view risk-seeking lifestyle patterns as appropriate behaviours, and physicians can help them recognise the risks and develop less harmful alternatives and strategies. Personal biases should not affect healthcare providers' duty to respect the rights of adolescents and ability to provide developmentally appropriate care. Healthcare professionals should be familiar with the relevant legal statutes in Singapore and refer suspected sexual abuse or violence, risk of self-harm, teenage pregnancy, newly diagnosed sexual transmitted infections or multiple risk-seeking behaviours for further evaluation and help.

SUBMITTER: Lee RMK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7911079 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Sexual matters among teenagers.

Lee Richard Meng Kam RMK How Choon How CH Rajasegaran Kumudhini K

Singapore medical journal 20190901 9

In the complex developmental period of puberty, adolescents experience biophysical changes and adapt to societal and cultural expectations of adulthood. Development of their sexuality is an important biopsychosocial change during this period that, when neglected, may result in unmet sexual and reproductive health needs. Patterns of behaviour in adolescence have repercussions across the lifespan. HEADSSS (home, education/employment/eating, activities, drugs, sexuality, sleep, suicide/depression a ...[more]

PMID: 31570948

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Project description:IntroductionInadequate efforts towards meeting the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents and young people, who disproportionately share the burden of unwanted pregnancies, poor maternal and child health outcomes, risks of RTI/STI and HIV/AIDS, increase the risk of losing much of the progress made towards the Millennium Development Goals over the last decade, particularly in the context of low-and-middle-income countries like India.Data and methodsUsing the nationally representative data on 160551 unmarried young women aged 15-24 years from the District Level Reproductive and Child Health Survey (DLHS: 2007-2008) in India, this research evaluated the demographic and socioeconomic differentials in the access to family life/sex education (FLE) among youth in India. Using the adjusted multiple logistic regression models, the association between access to family life/sex education and attitudes towards a range of sexual and reproductive health matters among young unmarried Indian women were investigated.ResultsLess than half of the unmarried young women had received some form of FLE (48 percent) in India. However, there were substantial demographic and socioeconomic variations in their access to FLE, as relatively less educated women from the poorest wealth quintiles, religious and social minorities (Muslims, Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes) were significantly less likely to receive FLE as compared to other women. Importantly, the likelihood of holding favourable/positive attitudes towards reproductive processes, knowledge and discussion of contraceptive methods, precise awareness about the transmission pathways of RTIs/STIs and HIV/AIDS was significantly higher among those women in India who had access to FLE.ConclusionThe present research underscores the protective role of family life education towards improving the sexual and reproductive life experiences of young people. It further underscores the vital need to implement a comprehensive and culturally appropriate programme of family life education in order to meet the sexual and reproductive health demands of the adolescents and young people in India.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Parent-child communication is an effective tool for fostering healthy sexual and reproductive behaviours among adolescents. However, the topic is underexplored in Nigeria. This study examines how parents and caregivers communicate sexual and reproductive health-related matters with adolescents aged 13-18 years in Nigeria. METHOD:The study was undertaken in six communities in Ebonyi state, Nigeria using quantitative and qualitative research methods. Data were collected through, i) cluster randomized survey of 1057 adolescents aged 13-18 years, ii) twelve sex-disaggregated focus group discussions with adolescents aged 13 to 18 years, and iii) eight in-depth interviews with parents and caregivers. Univariate and bivariate analysis were performed for quantitative data, while qualitative data were analysed using thematic framework approach. RESULTS:Less than half (47.9%) of adolescents in the survey reported ever discussing sex-related matters with anyone. Three-quarters of those who had this discussion did so with a friend/peer and this had significant correlation with sex/gender (p = 0.04). Out of 1057 adolescents who participated in the survey only 4.5% had ever discussed sex-related matters with a parent and this correlated significantly with wealth index (p = 0.003). Findings from qualitative interviews show that sex-related discussions between parents and adolescents are sporadic, mostly triggered by unpleasant occurrences, and consist of, i) information on pubertal changes, ii) warnings against intersex relationships and premarital sex, iii) promotion of abstinence, and iv) warnings against teenage pregnancy and unsafe abortion. Some parents were of the opinion that sex-related matters should not be discussed with adolescents because it could be interpreted as tolerance for sexual promiscuity. Overall, parents expressed that their capacity to discuss sex-related matters with adolescents is limited by lack of knowledge, and restrictive religious and cultural norms about adolescent sexuality. CONCLUSION:Communication between parents and adolescents on sexual health and reproductive-related matters rarely occurs. However, when it does, it mostly consists of strict warnings that may not protect adolescents from making unhealthy sexual and reproductive health choices. Interventions to improve parent-adolescent communication of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) should aim at improving parents' capacity to communicate sexual and reproductive health matters, and deconstructing sociocultural norms around adolescent sexuality.

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Sexual matters among teenagers.

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Sexual matters among teenagers.

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