Effect of Structured Teaching Programme on Knowledge Regarding Pubertal Changes Among the Early Adolescent Girls in Selected Schools of Guwahati, Assam

Abstract

Background- Puberty is when the child’s body begins to develop and change as they transition into adulthood. The stages of puberty follow a definite path with progression of physical changes. The emotional changes of puberty may not progress at the same pace as the physical changes. Both the physical and emotional changes of puberty begin and end at different ages of each child. Materials and methods- A quantitative research approach and one group pre-test post-test research design was opted for the study. The study was conducted at 2 conveniently selected schools of Guwahati, Assam i.e. Prachya Bharati Senior Secondary School and Brahmaputra Valley Public School. The investigator uses simple random sampling technique and under that lottery method was used to select 109 early adolescent girls. Structured self administered knowledge questionnaire was used to collect the data. Result- findings revealed that, in pre-test majority i.e. 93(85.3%) had moderate knowledge, 10 (9.2%) had inadequate knowledge and 6 (5.5%) had adequate knowledge. For post-test majority 109 (100%) had adequate knowledge. In pre-test mean score was 9.11±1.307 and post-test mean score was 15.93±1.88 with mean difference of 6.82. therefore, it shows that there is significant difference between pre-test and post-test knowledge regarding pubertal changes. Findings also showed that there was significant association between the pre-test knowledge score with selected demographic variables such as educational status, type of family and previous source of knowledge on pubertal changes. Conclusion- keeping in the view of findings of the study, it can be revealed that structured teaching programme on pubertal changes was effective in improving the knowledge of early adolescent girls.

Introduction

Puberty marks the transition from childhood to adolescence, involving physical changes that lead to sexual maturity and reproductive capability. It typically begins for girls between ages 8-13 and boys 9-14 and includes changes like breast development, pubic hair growth, menstruation, and emotional shifts. Globally, youth make up a significant portion of the population, with about 1.2 billion teenagers worldwide. In India, teenagers constitute around 21.4% of the population.

Research shows that puberty can be a stressful phase, especially for girls, causing anxiety related to body image and menstruation. A study in Kerala found many pre-adolescent girls experienced anxiety and low self-esteem with early puberty. Knowledge about puberty among adolescent girls often depends on education and information from peers or mothers.

The current study aims to assess and improve knowledge about pubertal changes among early adolescent girls in selected schools in Guwahati, Assam. It uses a pre-test/post-test design to measure the effectiveness of a structured teaching program. The study sampled 109 girls from two schools selected via simple random sampling and analyzed the data using statistical software to evaluate knowledge changes and associations with demographic factors.

Conclusion

The results of this study indicate that a structured teaching programme about pubertal changes in early adolescent girls was successful in raising girls knowledge of these changes. It is crucial that parents and medical professionals take the lead in teaching early adolescent girls about the changes that come with puberty in order to raise awareness and encourage healthy lifestyle choices. Thus, the study concluded that the structured teaching programme was effective in increasing the early adolescent and there was found to be significant association with the demographic variables such as educational status, type of family and previous source of knowledge regarding pubertal changes.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Ms. Karsum Gamlin, Mrs. Archana Das, Ms. Sangeeta Paul. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.