Secondary School Girls Research Articles

Influence of Sexual Attitudes on the Education Participation of Secondary School Girls in Homa Bay County, Kenya

Secondary schooling for girls is associated with much vulnerability. Sexual research is sometimes curtailed by religious and cultural taboos that consider it inappropriate. Given that girls’ education participation continues to experience setbacks that have a sexual bearing, research breaching these taboos is justified. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of sexual attitudes on the education participation of secondary school girls in Homa Bay County (HBC). The study adopted a Concurrent Transformative research design- majorly quantitative with an embedded qualitative bit. The study took place in Homa Bay County. The targeted population was all secondary school girls in HBC. Solvin’s formula was used to arrive at a sample size of 393. Respondents were chosen by proportionate stratified sampling method. Additionally, one guidance/counselling teacher, one principal and one area education director from the participating schools were purposefully included in the study to provide complementary qualitative data. Data from female students was collected by means of questionnaires while interview schedules were used to collect data from the rest of the participants. The validity of the test was established through expert input and adaption of tests used in similar studies. A pilot study was conducted to ensure instrument efficiency. Instrument reliability was confirmed by a test-retest test that returned a correlation coefficient of 0.786. The quantitative data was coded and analyzed using SPSS version 24.0. Linear regression was run between education participation and gender norms and the outcome was an equation model. Qualitative data provided evaluative references in the discussion. The relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable was found to be statistically significant (t= 29.576, p <.001). Data evidence against the null hypothesis validated the alternative hypothesis. The study found that the sexual attitudes of the majority of the girls in Homa Bay County were inclined towards sexual gratification. The study data revealed that this behaviour undermined girls’ education participation. The study recommends that school authorities promote the formation of girls’ sexual sobriety peer teams (SSPT) that meet regularly to unpack the potential risks of romantic relationships on their educational participation. Interventions to improve girls’ education participation will benefit from these findings. More similar studies are needed to gauge the plausibility of generalizing these findings.

Role of Academic Head in Sharpening Leadership Traits Among Teachers and Students in Girls Secondary Schools

Role of Academic Head in Sharpening Leadership Traits Among Teachers and Students in Girls Secondary Schools

Perception about human papillomavirus vaccination among middle adolescent school girls in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2023: qualitative study

BackgroundHuman papillomavirus vaccine uptake among school girls in Ethiopia was still low and uptake was majorly related to perception regarding the vaccine. This study explored school girls’ perceptions of Human papillomavirus vaccination in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.ObjectivesThe main aim of this study was to explore the perception of secondary school girls towards Human Papilloma Virus vaccine in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2023.MethodsA qualitative research using focused group discussions were used to explore middle adolescent school girls’ perceptions of Human papillomavirus in Addis Ababa Ethiopia from March 2023-April 2023. A focus group discussion guide was employed with potential probes to achieve study objectives. A convenience sampling technique was performed to select study participants. The collected data were transcribed and translated into English and thematic analysis was done by using Atlas-Ti software version 7.5.16.ResultTwo dominant themes emerged from the study; perceived benefits and potential barriers to Human papillomavirus vaccine uptake. Poor awareness, lack of family support, perception of poor vaccine quality, fear of side effects, misconceptions, and myths are potential barriers to the Human papillomavirus vaccine. Some students perceive the vaccine as important in the prevention of cervical cancer, others are not sure about the importance of the vaccine and many students think that the vaccine can cause infertility and other beliefs it can cause diseases.ConclusionThe perceived benefits of the Human papillomavirus vaccine was; it prevents cervical cancer enhance acceptability and can be an important motivation for Human papillomavirus vaccination among students. The main barriers to vaccine uptake and acceptance were; lack of awareness, misconceptions, and myths, lack of credible information sources of vaccines, perception of poor vaccine quality, Poor family support, and cultural and religious perspectives. We recommend the development of strong collaborations that work on identified challenges.

Assessment of Adolescent Girls' Menstrual Hygiene Knowledge and Practice in Ede South Local Government Secondary Schools, Ede, Osun State

The onset of menstruation denotes a landmark event in the pubertal development of the adolescent girl. Adolescent girls should have adequate knowledge of menstrual hygiene before menarche. Lack of adequate knowledge and good menstrual hygiene practices can have far-reaching consequences for a girl's well-being, dignity, reproductive health, and sexual health. Hygiene-related practices during menstruation are of considerable importance. This study assessed the knowledge and Practice of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls in Ede South local government secondary schools, Ede, Osun State. This study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional study design. The study population was adolescent girls between the ages of 10 and 19 who have attained menarche, using multi-stage sampling as the sampling technique. A structured questionnaire comprising three sections was used to elicit information from the respondents. The data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. The result showed that the majority (62.6%) of the respondents were between 16 and 18 years old and had attained menarche at 13. Most respondents had heard about menstruation before menarche (85.0%), and mothers (79.1%) were the primary source of information. Most (89.70%) respondents had good knowledge of menstrual hygiene. Also, most (53.0%) respondents had good menstrual hygiene practices. In the test for the hypothesis, there is a significant association between sociodemographic characteristics such as tribe, class, age at menarche, and the Practice of menstrual hygiene. There is also a significant relationship between knowledge and Practice of menstrual hygiene (p = 0.017). This study concluded that the majority of the respondents had good knowledge as well as good practice regarding menstrual hygiene. Keywords: Menstrual Hygiene, Adolescents, Knowledge, Practice

Characteristics of Malaysian 16-year-old girls who reported regular binge eating episodes and the associated risk factors: a descriptive study.

Adolescents may suffer from binge eating (BE), that refers to consuming a large amount of food in a short period of time and accompanied by feelings of loss of control (LOC) over eating. This study compared the prevalence of BE between 16-year-old Malaysian girls from two types of public schools, Malay-English-medium and Chinese-Malay-English-medium schools. Additionally, this study identified associated risk factors of those who presented regular BE episodes, including LOC eating, anxiety, body mass index (BMI), body dissatisfaction (BD) and eating disorders (EDs) psychopathology. 398 participants completed self-reports assessing BE symptoms, LOC eating, state anxiety, trait anxiety, EDs psychopathology, and BD. They also reported heights and weights. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, chi-square tests, and Z-test for independent proportions were conducted. There was no significant difference in either the prevalence of BE or EDs psychopathology between participants from the two types of schools. 71 (17.8 %) participants reported moderate-to-severe symptoms of BE, and 46 (11.6 %) reported moderate-to-severe levels of LOC eating. Those who reported moderate-to-severe symptoms of BE reported significantly higher levels of LOC eating, BD, drive to be thinner, BMI, state anxiety, and EDs psychopathology, compared to those who reported none-to-minimal BE. BE and LOC eating appeared to be relatively common among secondary school girls in Malaysia. The relatively high prevalence of BE amongst adolescents in our sample highlighted the importance of early identification of signs for BE as preventive measures from developing EDs psychopathology among children and adolescents. We propose that attitudes towards eating and body image-related concerns should be included in school screenings aimed at preventing psychological problems in minors.

Prevalence and Effects of Dysmenorrhea on Academic Performance among Secondary School Girls in Pokhara Metropolitan, Kaski

Introduction: Dysmenorrhea is the most common gynecological problem among females, and it is defined as cramping pain in the lower abdomen occurring just before or during menstruation. The study aims to assess the prevalence of dysmenorrhea and its effects among secondary school girls in Pokhara Metropolitan, Kaski.
 Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 347 participants from 12 public secondary schools of Pokhara metropolitan city studying in grades 11 and 12 using semi-structured questionnaire. A standard tool, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), was used to assess the severity of pain felt by the participants. Data were entered in Epi-Data and analyzed in SPSS version 20.
 Results: The prevalence of dysmenorrhea among secondary school girls was 74.4%. Of them mild, moderate, and severe dysmenorrhea accounted 20.5%, 53.5%, and 26%, respectively. Lower abdominal pain (86.8%) was the most common symptom, followed by back pain (62%). The menstrual cycle was regular among 68% of the participants. More than half (56.2%) of the participants had a positive family history of dysmenorrhea whereas, 71.3% had an occurrence of dysmenorrhea more frequently (every month). The most (84.1%) of the participants had menstrual pain on the first day; among them, 46.5% had remaining menstrual pain up to two days. Pattern of menstrual cycle, (AOR 2.860; 95% CI: 1.491-5.484), Positive family history of dysmenorrhea, (AOR 4.759; 95% CI: 2.746-8.246), intake of coffee 1-2 times per day; (AOR 0.345; 95% CI: 0.058-2.056) had statistically significant association with the prevalence of dysmenorrhea.
 Conclusion: Nearly three-quarters of the secondary school girls experience dysmenorrhea. Dysmenorrhea tends to be more common among secondary school girls with a family history of dysmenorrhea and history of irregular menstruation

Influence of Some Teachers' Variables on Academic Achievement in Biology among Secondary School Girls in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria

Influence of Some Teachers' Variables on Academic Achievement in Biology among Secondary School Girls in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria

Vaginal Microbial Network Analysis Reveals Novel Taxa Relationships among Adolescent and Young Women with Incident Sexually Transmitted Infection Compared with Those Remaining Persistently Negative over a 30-Month Period.

A non-optimal vaginal microbiome (VMB) is typically diverse with a paucity of Lactobacillus crispatus and is often associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Although compositional characterization of the VMB is well-characterized, especially for BV, knowledge remains limited on how different groups of bacteria relate to incident STIs, especially among adolescents. In this study, we compared the VMB (measured via 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon sequencing) of Kenyan secondary school girls with incident STIs (composite of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis) to those who remained persistently negative for STIs and BV over 30 months of follow-up. We applied microbial network analysis to identify key taxa (i.e., those with the greatest connectedness in terms of linkages to other taxa), as measured by betweenness and eigenvector centralities, and sub-groups of clustered taxa. VMB networks of those who remained persistently negative reflected greater connectedness compared to the VMB from participants with STI. Taxa with the highest centralities were not correlated with relative abundance and differed between those with and without STI. Subject-level analyses indicated that sociodemographic (e.g., age and socioeconomic status) and behavioral (e.g., sexual activity) factors contribute to microbial network structure and may be of relevance when designing interventions to improve VMB health.

An Investigating of Using Dictogloss as an Essential Technique for Improving Student's Listening Comprehension

The current study is an experimental one of using dictogloss as an essential technique with fifth preparatory EFL student's at Al-Saydaa Nafysaa secondary school for girls. The study is done in two classes as a sample: class one is called the experimental class which used dictogloss as an effective technique for improving listening comprehension , whereas the control class is taught by a dictation traditional method. To achieve its intended aims ,there is a test students used, then the data is collected and analyzed using SPSS. Moreover, collected data reveals that experimental class, students were taught using dictogloss which have better comprehension to information heard, and students express positive attitudes towards using dictogloss technique for improving their listening understanding.

Mapping the Expertise and Understanding of Menarche, Menstrual Hygiene, and Menstrual Health among Adolescent Ladies in Low- and Center-Profit Nations

Mapping the Expertise and Understanding of Menarche, Menstrual Hygiene, and Menstrual Health among Adolescent Ladies in Low- and Center-Profit Nations

Menstruation hygiene management among secondary school students of Chitwan, Nepal:a cross-sectional study

BackgroundDespite significant progress in reproductive health, many societies still treat menstruation as disgraceful and shameful process and relate it with negative consequences. This belief and attitude may increase the incidence of reproductive tract infection, leading to significant negative impact on women’s health. To manage menstruation hygienically and with dignity, it is essential that women and adolescent girls have sufficient knowledge on menstruation hygiene management. Thus, this study aims to identify the knowledge, associated factors related to menstrual hygiene management (MHM) and effectiveness of health education on MHM.MethodsA school-based study was conducted between August 2021 to April 2022 among 400 secondary school girls. The sampling unit was selected by using systematic random sampling method. Health education was given in the interval between the pretest and posttest of knowledge assessment on MHM. Logistic regression analysis and Wilcoxon rank test were applied to identify predictors and to evaluate the effectiveness of health education.ResultsOverall, 57.7% of the girls had unsatisfactory level of knowledge. Around two third (61.4%) missed school days during the menstrual period. Almost 99.5% had experienced some form of cultural restrictions during the menstrual period. After imparting health education, the level of knowledge on menstruation hygiene had significantly improved (z = 17.129, p = < 0.001) to satisfactory compared to the baseline knowledge level (42.3% vs. 92.5%). During multivariate analysis, factors such as having studied in public schools (AoR = 1.7, p = 0.026), having no or one close female friend (AoR = 2.2, p = 0.011), caste other than Brahmin/Chhetri (AoR = 1.4, p = 0.05) and factors such as living in joint family (AoR = 1.6, p = 0.048) were significantly associated with unsatisfactory level of knowledge on MHM.ConclusionsA substantial number of respondents had unsatisfactory level of knowledge on MHM. Factors such as ethnicity status, types of family, number of close female friends, types of schools and mothers’ education were associated with unsatisfactory level of knowledge. School absenteeism and cultural restriction were found to be common/frequent. Imparting of health education was found to be an effective measure to enhance knowledge on MHM.

Exploring the Impacts of Menstrual-Pelvic Pain on School Activity in Rural Secondary School Girls

Exploring the Impacts of Menstrual-Pelvic Pain on School Activity in Rural Secondary School Girls

Life Skills of Secondary School Girl Students in Relation to their Academic Anxiety

The aim of education is holistic development of an individual. But, our present education system has fuelled academic anxiety among the students. This has led to many personality disorders among them. They are not able to meet the real challenges of the world that are beyond their academic life. Such students are having lacking of the life skills that are essential for daily life. Everyone is struggling with problems and suffers to find the ways to meet the challenges in life. It is essential that everyone masters those basic life skills to solve their problems in daily life. Hence the present study was intended to study the relationship between life skills and academic anxiety of secondary school girl students. Descriptive survey method was used for the present study. The sample used in the present study was 50 secondary school girl students from Kanya Gurukul Senior Secondary School, Khanpur Kalan, Sonepat district. The tools used for the study were Life Skill Scale – Developed by Dr. M.N. Vranda (2009) and Academic Anxiety Scale – Dr. A. K. Singh and Dr. A. Sen Gupta (2012). Analysis of the data was done by using Pearson’s product moment of correlation coefficient. The study revealed that there is a substantial negative correlation exists.

Stress, Depression, and Anxiety of Female Adolescents of Higher Senior Secondary School: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study of Humanities, Commerce, and Science Streams.

A cross-sectional, representative sample from adolescent girls of higher senior secondary schools was collected for the study. We analyzed the data from 600 Punjabi Indian female adolescents (200 from humanities, 200 from commerce, and 200 from science stream) aged 15-17 years who were randomly selected from government and private schools. The symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress were assessed by the DAS questionnaire. Overall prevalence was 50.8%, 58.7%, and 68% for depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. A significant difference was reported for depression (.000), anxiety (.000), and stress (.002) between adolescents of three streams. The results of the study point out that there is a necessity for some interventions to educate adolescent girls about the negative effects of stress, depression, and anxiety on their body.

Effectiveness of structured teaching programme on knowledge regarding anemia and its management among anemic adolescent girls in senior secondary school of East Sikkim

Effectiveness of structured teaching programme on knowledge regarding anemia and its management among anemic adolescent girls in senior secondary school of East Sikkim

A study to assess the effectiveness of structured teaching programme on menstrual hygiene among higher secondary school girls in selected schools at Ankola

A study to assess the effectiveness of structured teaching programme on menstrual hygiene among higher secondary school girls in selected schools at Ankola

Assessment of Secondary School Students’ Nutrition and Dietary Intake in Delta State

The study assessed secondary school students’ nutrition and dietary intake in Delta State. A research question and null hypothesis guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The study’s population consisted of all secondary school students in Delta State. A simple random sampling technique selected 120 secondary school students as samples from three public secondary schools in Asaba, Delta State. The research instrument was a structured questionnaire and was validated by experts. The cronbach alpha method was used to determine a reliability coefficient of .83. Descriptive statistics of frequency and percentage were used to answer the research question, whereas t-test statistics were used to test the null hypothesis at a .05 significance level. The findings revealed that dietary intake among secondary school students in Delta State is adequate and the difference between mean ratings of boys and girls secondary school students on dietary intake in Delta State is not significant. Based on the findings, the study recommended that secondary school students eat adequate diets to ensure proper growth, development, and overall well-being.

Determination of Levels of Anxiety and its Association with Demographic Characteristics of Adolescent Girls in Secondary Schools of Lahore

Adolescence is a transition period between the time of childhood and adulthood as it is usually accompanied by sexual maturation and physical growth as well as psychological and cognitive changes necessary for coping with the tasks of later adult life. Objective: To identify levels of anxiety and its association with demographic characteristics of adolescent girls in secondary schools of Lahore Methods: Cross-sectional, analytical design was used in this study. The normality assumptions were tested by Kolmogorov-Smirnova and Shapiro-Wilk test. Results: Out of 140 participants, 116 participants were having anxiety. Among these participants, 73 (62.9%) were having mild anxiety, 38 (32.7%) were having moderate anxiety, and only 5 (4.31%) were having severe anxiety. Statistical analysis show that the data were not normally distributed as evident from the p-value 0.01 and 0.03 in Kolmogorov-Smirnova and Shapiro-Wilk tests, respectively. Analysis showed that there is a significant difference in anxiety levels in adolescent school girls as evident by p-value is less than 0.05. Conclusion: The prevalence of anxiety was 82.85% among adolescents’ girls. Majority of the adolescent students were facing mild and mild anxiety and this anxiety remain throughout the adolescent age but reduce with passage of age.

Body composition analysis for non-athlete urban schoolgirls in the pubertal stage

Background and Study Purpose. Body composition analysis by bioimpedance is a modern investigation method that provides additional and relevant information, compared to the classical assessment, based only on BMI levels. The purpose of the research is to compare body composition parameters for secondary school girls, according to the stages of puberty and to identify the differences that appear between these stages. Material and Methods. The investigated group was made up of 115 non-athlete girls from the urban environment, divided into two distinct age categories: 10-12 years/55 cases (Under 12 with age=10.97±0.40, BMI=19.53±3.71, percentiles BMI=65.52± 25.78) and 12-13 years/end of puberty/60 cases (Over 12 with age=12.30±0.30 BMI=20.72±3.62, BMI percentiles=66.13±28.23). The assessment carried out with Inbody 720/Biospace (Korea). Results. Reporting to the percentile ranges indicates the absence of Underweight cases for the Over 12 group and only 7.27% of the Under 12 group falls within these values. In both groups, the Normal Weight class dominates (67.27% for Under 12 and 63.34% for Over 12), and the percentages of Overweight and Obese cases are higher for Over 12 (23.33% and 13.33%, respectively). The distribution according to body composition indicates the slim type for about a quarter of the students of both groups, but also the placement of a large number of subjects in the Chubby/normal type category (29.10% for Under 12 and 20% for Over 12). According to the percentage of mass fat, the Over 12 group has a double percentage of Obesity for high level, compared to Under 12 group (23.33% vs. 10.90%). The Over 12 group has statistically higher values (P&lt;0.05) for body fat mass (BFM), Skeletal lean mass (SLM), fat free mass (FFM), total body water (TBW), Skeletal Muscle Mass (SMM) and has a much higher number of cases reporting abdominal obesity/ waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) (33.34% vs. 14.55%). Conclusions. The analysis of body composition by bioimpedance allowed the precise identification of the ratio between the main components of the body, clearly highlighting the cases with problems related to the very high percentage of fat mass. In this sense, for many girls who fell according to the BMI percentiles in the Normal Weight category, the low percentage of muscle tissue and the excessive amounts of fat generated the reclassification in the Chubby/normal type or Obese/excessive fat type categories. The results confirm the increase in percentages of overweight and obese children for the last stage of puberty.

Assessment of Felt Needs Regarding Reproductive Health among Adolescent Girls in Schools Located in Urban Area

ABSTRACT Introduction: Among adolescents, girls are more vulnerable than boys1. To promote these girls and for progress on all grounds, it has become very important to find out their problems and their felt needs. Aim: To assess the felt needs of adolescent girls of secondary schools in urban areas regarding reproductive health. Objectives: 1) To assess the felt needs of adolescent girls regarding reproductive health. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted over 6 months of period among 9th-class girls of 2 municipal secondary schools located in urban area. The sample size was calculated to be 139. Result: Felt need of a maximum (82%) of participants was that education about reproductive health should be provided to adolescent girls by a female doctor in school followed by (41%) confidential health check-up of girls regarding reproductive health issues. Conclusion: Present study reveals that the Primary felt needs of 9th-class girls in municipal schools of urban area is reproductive health education by a female doctor in school followed by confidential health check-ups for reproductive health issues.