Adolescent Sex Research Articles

Parent-adolescent informant discrepancy on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in the UK Millennium Cohort Study

BackgroundDevelopmental researchers often use a multi-informant approach to measure adolescent behaviour and adjustment, but informant discrepancies are common. In general population samples, it is often found that parents report more positive and less negative outcomes than adolescents themselves. This study aimed to investigate factors associated with informant discrepancy, including adolescent sex, and parental level of psychological distress and education.MethodsInformant discrepancy on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was investigated using a Latent Difference Score (LDS) approach, which estimates the true difference between parent and adolescent reports in a structural equation model. The sample were parent-adolescent dyads from the seventh wave of the UK Millennium Cohort Study (N = 6947, 49.3% female, aged 17 years).ResultsParents reported lower levels of difficulties (emotion symptoms, peer problems, conduct problems), and higher levels of pro-social behaviour than adolescents themselves. Conditional effects were found, as discrepancy was greater amongst parent-daughter dyads for emotion and peer problems, and greater amongst parent-son dyads for conduct problems and pro-social behaviour. Parent-adolescent discrepancy was also greater generally if parents had a lower level of psychological distress or a higher level of education.ConclusionsIn a large general population sample from the UK, it was found that adolescents tended to report more negative and less positive outcomes than parents reported about them. Conditional effects were found at the parent and adolescent level suggesting that specific informant biases are likely to impact the measurement of adolescent behaviour and adjustment across reporters.

Associations between axial length, corneal refractive power and lens thickness in children and adolescents: The Ural Children Eye Study.

To assess relationships between ocular biometric parameters in dependence of age and sex in children and adolescents. In the Ural Children Eye Study, a school-based cohort study, 4933 children underwent an ophthalmological and general examination. Complete biometric measurements were available for 4406 (89.3%) children. Cycloplegic refractive error (mean: -0.87 ± 1.73 diopters (D); median: -0.38 D; range: -19.75 D to +11.25 D) increased (multivariable analysis; r2 = 0.73) with shorter axial length (β: -0.99; non-standardized regression coefficient B: -1.64; 95% CI: -1.68, -1.59) and lower corneal refractive power (β: -0.55; B: -0.67; 95% CI: -0.70, -0.64), in addition to higher cylindrical refractive error (β: 0.10; B: 0.34; 95% CI: 0.27, 0.41), thinner lens (β: -0.11; -0.85; 95% CI: -1.02, -0.69) and male sex (β: 0.15; B: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.42, 0.57). In univariate analysis, decrease in refractive error with older age was more significant (β: -0.38 vs. β: -0.25) and steeper (B: -0.22 (95% CI: -0.24, -0.20) vs. B: -0.13 (95% CI: -0.15, -0.11)) in girls than boys, particularly for an age of 11+ years. Axial length increased with older age (steeper for age <11 years) (B: 0.22 (95% CI: 0.18, 0.25) vs. 0.07 (95% CI: 0.05, 0.09)). In multivariable analysis, axial length increased with lower refractive error (β: -0.77; B: -0.42; 95% CI: -0.43, -0.40) and lower corneal refractive power (β: -0.54; B: -0.39; 95% CI: -0.41, -0.38), in addition to older age (β: 0.04; B: 0.02; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.03), male sex (β: 0.13; B: 0.23; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.32), higher cylindrical refractive error (β: 0.05; B: 0.09; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.14) and thinner lens (β: -0.14; B: -0.62; 95% CI: -0.72, -0.51). The axial length/corneal curvature (AL/CR) ratio increased until the age of 14 years (β: 0.34; B: 0.017; 95% CI: 0.016, 0.019; p < 0001), and then became independent of age. The AL/CR ratio increased (r2 = 0.78) mostly with higher corneal refractive power (β: 0.25; B: 0.02; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.02; p < 0.001), lower refractive error (β: -0.75; B: -0.05; 95% CI: -0.05, -0.05; p < 0.001), thinner lens thickness (β: -01.6; B: -0.09; 95% CI: -0.10, -0.08; p < 0.001) and older age (β: 0.16; B: 0.006; 95% CI: 0.005, 0.007; p < 0.001). In this multiethnic group of school children in Russia, the age-related increase in myopic refractive error was more significant and steeper in girls, particularly for the age group of 11+ years. Determinants of higher myopic refractive error were longer axial length, higher corneal refractive power, lower cylindrical refractive error, thicker lens and female sex.

Influence of in-person and remote Satir family therapy on emotions and behavior of adolescents with major depressive disorder

BackgroundMajor depressive disorder in adolescents is characterized by high prevalence rate, high recurrence rate, high suicide rate and high disability rate. However, the recognition rate and cure rate are low, and the disease has a very bad influence on the family and society. The lack of psychiatrists and psychotherapists in villages and small towns makes it difficult to get timely and professional intervention and treatment for adolescent with major depressive disorder. MethodsA total of 84 adolescents with major depressive disorder who received treatment in the department of psychosomatic medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University participated in this survey, and they were divided into the control group and the intervention group by random number table. Adolescent Non-suicidal Self-injury Assessment Questionnaire (ANSSIAQ), Self-rating Questionnaire for Adolescent Problematic Mobile Phone Use (SQAPMPU), Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) and Depression Self-Rating Scale for Childhood (DSRS) were used to investigate the negative emotions and behavior of adolescents with major depressive disorder at baseline and intervention for 12 weeks. ResultsThere were no significant differences in the baseline information of adolescents (sex ratio, age, education level), including the total score of SCARED, DSRS and SQAPMPU, the total mean score of ANSSIAQ between the two groups (P > 0.05). After 12-week intervention, the score of SCARED, DSRS and SQAPMPU, the total mean score of ANSSIAQ in both groups were lower than that of the baseline, and the score of the intervention group showed a more obvious downward trend (P < 0.05). ConclusionsIn-person and remote Satir family therapy not only effectively reduced the anxiety and depression level among participants, but also validly reduced their non-suicidal self-injury behavior and mobile phone use behavior. The results verified that the model we adopted can be well applied for the out-patient management of adolescents with major depressive disorder, especially in villages and small towns.

Factors Associated with Adolescent Premarital Sex at SMA Negeri 1 Lembo, North Konawe Regency

Premarital sex among adolescents is increasing rapidly and has become a health problem in the world, especially in Indonesia. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to find out what causes are associated with adolescent premarital sex behavior at SMA Negeri 1 Lembo, North Konawe Regency. Methods: This study is a quantitative study with a cross-sectional design. the sample in this study were 176 respondents using probability sampling and analyzed using multivariate analysis. Results: The results showed that the influence of family roles on premarital sex behavior was 0.018 and that of peers was 0.000. Conclusion: It can be concluded that for the role of family (parents) and peers have an effect on the incidence of premarital sex among adolescents in SMA Negeri 1 Lembo

BODY FAT CUTOFFS MEASURED BY ISOTOPIC DILUTION WITH DEUTERIUM OXIDE IN ADOLESCENTS.

Objective: To establish nutritional diagnosis and provide a series of reference body fat percentiles for age and sex in adolescents using isotopic dilution with deuterium oxide, a method considered the gold standard for assessing body composition. After obtaining data on weight and height, Method: among participants aged 10 to 14 years, the Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated, used to obtain the nutritional diagnosis. The analysis of body composition was performed on a saliva sample collected before and after the administration of a dose of Deuterium Oxide (D2O, at a dose of 0.5g/kg (maximum 30g), using the technique of Infrared Spectrometry by Transform of Fourier (FTIR), following the methodology described by Slater et al., (2005). Study approved by the Institutional Research Ethics Committee. The Results: sample consisted of 390 participants, 233 (59.8%) girls, with a mean age of 12.7 ±1.1 years. The percentage of body fat by D2O showed a parametric distribution between males and females, with a mean of 21.7±9.4%BF and 28.7±8.1%BF, respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight was 15.6% and 1.5% with obesity. There is a trend towards an increase in %BF in female quartiles and a reduction in %BF in all male quartiles. Girls enter adolescence (10 years old) with a statistically lower amount of body fat than in the intermediate period of this phase. This did not occur in boys, who remained with the same absolute value of body fat. Girls are classied as overweight when they reach 1/3 of their weight consisting of fat.

Vancomycin Clearance in Obese Adults is not Predictive of Clearance in Obese Adolescents.

Contradictory pharmacokinetic (PK) results have been observed between obese adults and obese adolescents, with absolute clearance (CL) reported to be either unaltered, lower, or higher in obese adolescents compared to obese adults. This study investigates the PK of vancomycin in adolescents and adults who are overweight or obese. Data from 125 overweight and obese adolescents (aged 10-18 years, weight 28.3-188 kg) and 81 overweight and obese adults (aged 29-88 years, weight 66.7-143 kg) were analysed using population PK modelling. In addition to age, sex, renal function estimates, and regular weight descriptors, we evaluated standard weight (WTstandard, defined as weight for length, age, and sex in adolescents and weight for length in adults) and excess weight (WTexcess, defined as total body weight (TBW) minus WTstandard) as covariates in order to distinguish between weight resulting from length versus weight resulting from obesity. Analyzing adolescents and adults together, vancomycin CL was found to increase with TBW and decrease with increasing age (p < 0.001). A covariate analysis investigating adolescents and adults separately found that vancomycin CL increased with WTstandard in adolescents and adults, albeit with different functions, with adolescents having a higher CL per WTstandard than adults. Moreover, in this separate model, adolescent males had 21% higher CL than adolescent females of the same WTstandard, while in adults, CL decreased with increasing age (p < 0.001). There are apparent differences in vancomycin CL in overweight and obese adults versus overweight and obese adolescents, implying that dosing of vancomycin cannot be directly extrapolated between these populations.

The Usage of Contraceptive among Adolescent School Girls in a Semi-Urban Settlement, Cameroon

Background : Adolescent sexual activity, unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion and high number of HIV/AIDS infection have become the main reason of concern in urban and semi-urban areas Douala, Cameroon. More so, teenage pregnancy is a risk factor for poverty, unemployment, poorer educational achievements and poor mental health. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices on the usage of contraceptive among adolescent school girls in Mbanga, Littoral region-Douala. Methods : A cross sectional study was conducted in Mbanga, Littoral region-Douala during the month of February to march 2023 among 201 adolescent school girls to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices of contraception. Data was collected with the used of structured questionnaires and inputted in Microsoft excel and analyzed using SPSS version 23. With a 5% confidential interval. Results : 95.5% (192/201) of adolescent school girls had knowledge of contraceptives. Most of them (41.8%) got the information from health workers in hospitals. With respect to attitude, they had a negative attitudes towards contraceptives use; 43.3% declared that after using contraceptives it is difficult to get pregnant, 42.8% said pills and contraceptive injections affects female health, 37.3% said sex with condoms reduces pleasure. 56.7% of the participants were sexually active and 38.8% had used a contraceptive method. 16.4% and 15.9% of the participants used condom and calendar methods respectively. Conclusion : Adolescent school girls in Mbanga, littoral region-Douala had good knowledge of contraceptives usage. The attitude and practices on the usage of contraceptive was low among the study population. This study recommends that more sensitization on the attitude and practices on the usage of contraceptive should be carried out by local government and school authorities. Keywords: Contraceptive, Adolescent, school girls, Knowledge, Attitude, Practices DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/107-04 Publication date: April 30 th 2023

Do Australian adolescents with permission to drink at home engage in different alcohol use behaviours and experience more harms than those without such permission?

Around half of Australian students aged 16-17 are estimated to have drunk alcohol in the past month, with 11% drinking at 'risky' levels. This study investigated: (i) how many Australian adolescents aged 16-17 had parental permission to drink at home in 2016/17 and whether prevalence differed by adolescent sex; (ii) whether adolescents allowed to drink at home had drunk more recently and were drinking greater quantities; (iii) if adolescents allowed to drink at home experienced more alcohol-related harms; and (iv) if parental drinking patterns were associated with permitting adolescents to drink at home. Data from Wave 7 of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children were used. Descriptive and bivariate analyses addressed Aims i-iii. Nested multivariable logistic regression models addressed aim iv. In 2016/17, 28% of Australian adolescents aged 16-17 were allowed to drink alcohol at home. More adolescents with permission had drunk alcohol in the past month (77% vs. 63% of those without permission). There was no difference in quantity of alcohol consumed in the past week between groups. More adolescents allowed to drink at home had experienced alcohol-related harm compared to those without permission (23% vs. 17%). In multivariable analyses, alcohol consumption by primary parents was associated with an increased likelihood of allowing adolescents to drink at home. In order to reduce adolescent alcohol use and associated harms, parents should avoid permitting alcohol use among adolescents at home. Frequent (twice or more/week) primary parental alcohol consumption was especially associated with greater odds of allowing adolescents to drink at home.

Empirically driven transdiagnostic stages in the development of mood, anxiety and psychotic symptoms in a cohort of youth followed from birth

Staging models with transdiagnostic validity across mood, psychotic, and anxiety disorders could advance early intervention efforts as well as our understanding of the common underpinnings of such psychopathology. However, there are few well-supported operationalisations for such transdiagnostic models, particularly in community-based samples. We aimed to explore the inter-relationships among mood, psychotic, and anxiety symptom stages, and their common risk factors to develop data-informed transdiagnostic stages. We included participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a prospective ongoing birth cohort study. We developed operational thresholds for stages of depressive, hypomanic, anxiety, and psychotic symptoms based on the existing literature, refined further by expert consensus. We selected 1b level as the primary stage or outcome of interest. This represents moderate symptoms that are likely to be associated with the onset of the need for clinical mental health care. We used questionnaire and clinic data completed by young people ages 18 and 21 years. We used descriptive methods and network analyses to examine the overlap among Stage 1b psychopathology. We then examined the patterns of relationships between several risk factors and 1b stages using logistic regressions. Among 3269 young people with data available to determine all symptom stages, 64.3% were female and 96% Caucasian. Descriptive and network analyses indicated that 1b level depressive, anxiety, and psychotic symptom stages were inter-related while hypomania was not. Similarly, anxiety, depressive, and psychotic 1b stages were associated with the female sex, more emotional and behavioral difficulties in early adolescence, and life events in late adolescence. Hypomania was not related to any of these risk factors. Given their inter-relationships and similar risk factors, anxiety, psychotic and depressive, symptoms could be combined to form a transdiagnostic stage in this cohort. Such empirical transdiagnostic stages could help with prognostication and indicated prevention in youth mental health.

Abstract MP47: Sleep Disordered Breathing is Adversely Associated With Cardiac Autonomic Modulation in Adolescents

Introduction: Sleep disordered breathing (SDB), as measured by the apnea/hypopnea index (AHI), is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults. Although SDB is prevalent in pediatric populations, there has been less focus on SDB as a primary risk factor for CVD in youth. The recent AHA scientific statement on SDB and CVD in children and adolescents suggests that, in order to better understand the long-term CVD-related risk associated with SDB in youth, additional longitudinal studies incorporating noninvasive markers of CVD are needed. The current study aimed to fill this important gap. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that SDB is associated with decreased HRV in adolescents. Methods: We studied 421 subjects from the Penn State Child Cohort who were 8.7 (1.7) years old at baseline and were followed-up as adolescents 16.5 (2.3) years old. We estimated the AHI from 9-hour, in-lab polysomnography (PSG), and frequency and time-domain heart rate variability (HRV) indices from 24-h Holter EKG monitoring immediately following PSG. We stratified 24-h HRV data into daytime and nighttime periods. Linear regression analyses examined the association between AHI with 24-h HRV indices, while adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, BMI percentile, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) score in adolescence as well as AHI and nighttime HRV indices in childhood. Results: While there were no significant associations between AHI and daytime (p=0.233) or nighttime (p=0.147) HR, there were significant associations with frequency and time-domain HRV indices. A higher AHI was associated with lower Log-HF, Log-LF, SDNN and RMSSD, yet higher LF/HF, for both daytime and nighttime periods (all p&lt;0.05). For example, for each additional apnea or hypopnea per hour of sleep there was a decrease of -1.74ms (0.73) and -1.65ms (0.77) in SDNN during the daytime (p=0.018) and nighttime (p=0.033), respectively, even after adjusting for all covariates including MetS, childhood AHI and SDNN. More specifically, the 24-h SDNN of adolescents with an AHI≥5, indicative of moderate-to-severe SDB, was 10.9ms (4.4) lower than that of adolescents with an AHI=0 (p=0.014). Conclusions: SDB is associated with impaired cardiac autonomic balance in adolescence independently of MetS, prior SDB and prior HRV status. These data further support the role of SDB as an independent risk factor for CVD early in life.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Intersectionality of Sex, Race, and Poverty in Adolescents: A Descriptive Analysis

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Intersectionality of Sex, Race, and Poverty in Adolescents: A Descriptive Analysis

Pre- and postnatal exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke and cardiometabolic risk at 12 years: Periods of susceptibility

BackgroundTo identify periods of heightened susceptibility to the association of secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) exposure with cardiometabolic (CM) risk at age 12 years. MethodsWe used data from 212 adolescents from the HOME Study, a prospective pregnancy and birth cohort in Cincinnati, OH. Using multiple informant models, we estimated associations of maternal serum cotinine (mean of concentrations at 16 and 26 weeks of pregnancy) and children's serum cotinine concentrations (mean of concentrations at ages 1, 2, 3, and 4 years) with a CM risk summary score constructed of five risk components measured at age 12 years. We determined if these associations differed for pre- and postnatal exposure periods, and adolescent's sex. ResultsWe found some evidence that the cotinine-outcome associations differed by exposure period and sex. Postnatal, but not prenatal, cotinine was associated with higher CM risk scores and individual CM risk component values (interaction p-values = 0.04 to 0.35). Each 10-fold increase in postnatal cotinine was associated with 0.57 (95% CI: 0.32, 1.45), 0.09 (95% CI: 0.13, 0.31), 0.14 (−0.08, 0.35), 0.07 (95% CI: 0.34, 0.48), and 0.11 (95% CI: 0.04, 0.27) higher CM risk, HOMA-IR, TG to HDL-C ratio, leptin to adiponectin ratio, and visceral fat area. Postnatal cotinine was associated with higher visceral fat area among females but not males (sex × period × cotinine interaction p-value = 0.01). ConclusionsSerum cotinine concentrations during the postnatal period had greater influence on adolescent's CM risk compared to the prenatal period, and these associations may be sex-specific. This study reinforces the need for ongoing public health interventions to minimize children's exposure to SHS.

Is early or late biological maturation trigger obesity? A machine learning modeling research in Turkey boys and girls.

Biological maturation status can affect individual differences, sex, height, body fat, and body weight in adolescents and thus may be associated with obesity. The primary aim of this study was to examine the relationship between biological maturation and obesity. Overall, 1,328 adolescents (792 boys and 536 girls) aged 12.00 ± 0.94-12.21 ± 0.99 years, respectively (measured for body mass, body stature, sitting stature). Body weights were deter-mined with Tanita body analysis system and adolescent obesity status was calculated according to the WHO classification. Biological maturation was determined according to the somatic maturation method. Our results showed that boys mature 3.077-fold later than girls. Obesity was an increasing effect on early maturation. It was determined that being obese, overweight and healthy-weight increased the risk of early maturation 9.80, 6.99 and 1.81-fold, respectively. The equation of the model predicting maturation is: Logit (P) = 1/(1 + exp. (- (-31.386 + sex-boy * (1.124) + [chronological age = 10] * (-7.031) + [chronological age = 11] * (-4.338) + [chronological age = 12] * (-1.677) + age * (-2.075) + weight * 0.093 + height * (-0.141) + obesity * (-2.282) + overweight * (-1.944) + healthy weight * (-0.592)))). Logistic regression model predicted maturity with 80.7% [95% CI: 77.2-84.1%] accuracy. In addition, the model had a high sensitivity value (81.7% [76.2-86.6%]), which indicates that the model can successfully distinguish adolescents with early maturation. In conclusion, sex and obesity are independent predictors of maturity, and the risk of early maturation is increased, especially in the case of obesity and in girls.

The Impact of Chinese Sex Education on the Younger Generation: Gender Relations, Self-Awareness, and Awareness of Sexual Protection

Adolescent sex education refers to the education of adolescents on sexual physiology, sexual psychology, and sexual morality. The Chinese public avoids the word "sex" and the government rarely publishes relevant policies and regulations, for example, it rarely mentions "adolescent sex education" directly, but uses "puberty education" and "physiology education" instead of "puberty education", "physiology education" or "reproductive health education". This is related to the long-standing suppression of "sex" topics in traditional Chinese culture. However, the lack of sex education for adolescents has caused many social problems in contemporary education. Therefore, this study will investigate the significance of sex education for contemporary Chinese adolescents. This article will explore the current situation of sex education in China, how sex education affects adolescents' growth, and how different sectors that adolescents come into contact with during their growth should do a good job in sex education.

The Impact of Adolescent Sex Education on LGBT Identity

LGBT inequalities and discrimination were observed in more and more middle schools, and as research continues through scientific studies, the rate of them happening has been surprisingly increasing over the past few years. This phenomenon has to be stopped. In a long turn wrong, the students who had been discriminated against would have serious mental health problems, as well as increasing self-pity. The purpose of this research is to make aware of the violation's importance and provoke schools to realize the importance of the LGBT curriculum. This study is completed by surveying people in the communities and researching the percentage of LGBT+ discrimination over the past few years. Through the research, data had clearly shown a miraculous difference between schools that took care of this situation and those that did not.

Thoracic Spine Pain in High School Adolescents: A One-Year Longitudinal Study.

Thoracic spine pain (TSP) is a common condition in the general adult population, with a similar prevalence in children and adolescents. An in-depth understanding of risk factors can assist in the identification of potential targets for effective prevention strategies. This study aimed to determine the incidence of TSP and ongoing TSP and identify its predictors in high school students. This longitudinal study was conducted in 2017 (baseline-T1), and follow-up surveys were completed in 2018 (T2). The variable "thoracic spine pain" was observed using the Nordic questionnaire, and associated variables were observed through the Baecke questionnaire and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Statistical association methods were used for bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Among the participants, the one-year prevalence (ongoing TSP) was 38.4%, and the one-year incidence (new TSP) was 10.1%. Significant risk factors for ongoing TSP were adolescent females (RR = 2.14), in the age group of 15 to 18 years (RR = 1.41), clinical mental health problems (RR = 3.07), borderline mental health problems (RR = 2.02), mental health problems, sitting while using a tablet (RR = 1.93), distance of the eye from cell phone screen of or more than 20 cm (RR = 1.69), distance of the eye from the PC screen of or more than 30 cm (RR = 1.53), cell phone mobile use duration of or more than 3 h (RR = 1.60), tablet use time of or more than 3 h (RR = 2.08), and semi-lying prone position while using the cell phone (RR= 1.47), and these were also significant predictors of TSP episodes. Significant risk factors for new TSP were adolescent female sex (RR = 1.88), level, clinical mental health problems (RR = 4.26), borderline mental health problems (RR = 2.07), semi-lying prone position while using cell phone (RR = 1.71) or tablet (RR = 2.31), and mobile phone use duration equal to or greater than 3 h (RR = 1.72). We conclude that there is a high prevalence of TSP in high school students, which is associated with the female sex, mental health problems, and use of electronic devices for an inappropriate duration in an improper position.

Adolescence and sex education: Socio-cultural and psycho-theoretical perspectives

Sex education has become an important issue in human development and attracts a lot of debates day in and day out. This article situated itself on the socio-cultural perspective of adolescent sex education espousing permissive and restrictive social-cultural dimensions. The article again confined itself to psycho-theoretical perspectives by dwelling on Freud’s psychosexual theory, Eriksson’s psychosocial theory, Skinner’s operant conditioning, as well as Bandura’s social learning theory. All theories are comprehensively reviewed based on their views on adolescence and sex education. Psychosexual theory views sex education as a construct that can be nurtured in the early years of life, psychosocial theory views sex education as a construct that can occur through societal interactions, operant conditioning considers sex education as capable based on behavioral consequences, and social learning views sex education as something that can be modeled.

Pendidikan Seks Sebagai Pencegahan Perilaku Seksual Beresiko pada Remaja

Adolescence is an important period of life where there is a change from children to adults. Adolescence undergoes many changes such as physical, psychological, Â social and biological changes. Changes that occur in adolescents because of the active start and development of reproductive organ function. Until now, young people still face serious challenges that can destroy their future, namely risky sexual behavior such as premarital sex, prostitution and others that will increase the risk of teenage pregnancy, STD infection and HIV/AIDS. This can be caused by the lack of knowledge and behavior of adolescents caused by the lack of early sex education. The purpose of this activity is to provide health education on the prevention of dangerous behavior in adolescents. One of the efforts to overcome risky adolescent sex behavior is to increase information through the sex education program. This youth sex education is carried out boldly in the form of socialization on sexual risk behavior and its impacts targeting high school youth and university students in Sidoarjo, Surabaya, Mojokerto. and Gresik. After the implementation of health education activities, it was found that most of the people (94%) had good knowledge. This shows that health education about sex education in increasing public knowledge in preventing dangerous behavior in adolescents. The recommendation from this activity is that it is necessary to offer sex health education in an effort to prevent risky behavior in adolescents so that adolescent behavior will be positive so that it does not have unwanted impacts.

Parents’ stigmatizing beliefs about the HPV vaccine and their association with information seeking behavior and vaccination communication behaviors

ABSTRACT Parents’ stigmatizing beliefs about the HPV vaccine, such as beliefs that it promotes adolescent sexual activity, constitute a notable barrier to vaccine uptake. The purpose of this study is to describe the associations between parents’ stigmatizing beliefs about the HPV vaccine, psychosocial antecedents to vaccination, and parents’ intentions to vaccinate their children. Parents of vaccine-eligible children (n = 512) were surveyed in a large urban clinical network. Results indicate that two stigmatizing beliefs were significantly associated with self-efficacy in talking with a doctor about the HPV vaccine. Believing that the vaccine would make a child more likely to have sex was associated with citing social media as a source of information about the vaccine. Other stigmatizing beliefs were either associated with citing healthcare professionals as sources of information about the vaccine, or they were not significantly associated with any information source. This finding suggests that stigmatizing beliefs might discourage parents from seeking out information about the vaccine. This study is significant because it further highlights the importance of doctor recommendations to all patients at recommended ages; doctor visits may represent one of the few opportunities to normalize HPV vaccination and address parents’ stigmatizing beliefs about the HPV vaccine.

Prevalence and factors associated with malnutrition among school adolescents of Durame Town, Kambeta Tembaro Zone, Ethiopia.

malnutrition is a major public health issue affecting adolescents globally and developing countries in particular. Adolescent period is very sensitive to malnutrition. Adolescent malnutrition can be affected by different factors. The objective of this study was to assess prevalence and associated factors of adolescent malnutrition among high school students. an institutional-based cross-sectional study was carried out among school adolescents in Durame town high schools. Of the 498 selected school adolescents, 455 (91.4 %) were included in this study. Data were entered into Epi data and exported to World Health Organization (WHO) Anthroplus and Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS). Odds ratio at 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to check for the existence and strength of association between variables. P-value less than 0.05 was used to declare significance of association. the prevalence of stunting, thinness and overweight among adolescents was 26 (5.7%), 11(2.4 %) and 42 (9.2%), respectively. Residing in rural (AOR=5.31, 95% CI: 1.03-27.27) and utilize community based nutrition (AOR=0.26, 95% CI: 0.07-0.98) were associated with thinness. Male (AOR=3.55, 95% CI: 1.62-7.81) and having cattle (AOR=2.78, 95% CI: 1.393, 5.565) were associated with overweight. around two in twenty-five adolescents are stunted. About one in twenty-five adolescents are thin. More than two in twenty-five adolescents are overweight. Sex of adolescents, having cattle were associated with overweight of adolescent. Rural residence and utilizing community based nutrition were associated with thinness. Minister of Health and other health offices should implement nutrition education to school adolescents by giving emphasis on place of residence and for both male and female adolescents.