The determinants of health behaviours among adolescents

India accounts for the highest number of maternal deaths (2010) in the world suggesting poor utilization of maternal health care services. The proportion of adolescent deaths (due to pregnancy or during childbirth) to total maternal mortality is high as well. This paper assesses the socioeconomic differentials in accessing full antenatal care (ANC) and professional attendance at delivery (PAD) by adolescent mothers in India during 1990-2006. Data from the three rounds of the National Family Health Survey of India conducted during 1992-93, 1998-99 and 2005-06 were analyzed. The Cochran-Armitage and χ2 tests were applied to examine the trend in proportion. Using pooled multivariate logistic regression model, and adjusting for potential socio-demographic and economic characteristics, the likelihood of adolescent women accessing full ANC increased by only 4%, while PAD increased by 79% from 1990 to 2006. Women’s education manifested the largest differential in service use when compared to other key socioeconomic indicators.

Violence against women is rampant in India and spousal violence being its worst form. Spousal violence affect women regardless of their age; teens and young women are especially vulnerable. Spousal violence is a significant public health problem because of the associated physical, psychological, and financial costs to victims, their families, communities, and society in general.violence is repetitive and can sometimes be fatal. The severe consequences of repeated spousal violence necessitate the development of ways to identify male abusers at high risk of perpetrating spousal violence so that actions can be taken to protect victims. While physical and sexual violence perpetrated by married men against their wives are both major public health problems but in India very little research exists on them. With this interest, this paper using “Youth in India: Situation and Needs Study, 2006–2007” data set, tried to examine the association between witnessing parental violence and violence in community and their perpetration of non-consensual sex and spousal violence married men aged 15-29 against their wives. Internalizing behaviors, like exposure to parental violence and community violence were examined as significant moderators of perpetrating violence among young men in India.

The present paper deals with utilisation of health care services by adolescents in India. This study is completely based on 42nd round, 52nd round and 60th round data of National Sample Survey Organisation. Bivariate and multivariate analyses have been done to fulfill the objectives. The analysis shows that there was a higher prevalence of untreated ailments among the economically weaker sections of the population and rural areas. Private sector was the major provider of health care services to the study population and the share of public sector has declined further during the study period. Results showed that educational attainment of the individuals to be having a significant relationship with treatment of ailments. The other significant observation was the inverse relationship between MPCE of household and prevalence of untreated ailments. Ailments of the study population belonging to highest MPCE group was 72 percent less chance to remain untreated than their counterparts in lowest MPCE group. The odd of not seeking treatment decreased with the increment of duration of ailments within the reference period. This hints that there is a tendency to wait before seeking treatment for an ailment, which may be to understand about the seriousness of the ailment.

This study documents the types and risk factors of violence experienced by FSWs. The study was a survey of 305 brothel-based FSWs residing in brothels in Abuja, Nigeria. The mean age of the FSW was 27±5.7 years. The prevalence of VAW six months preceding the survey was 52.8%, 59.5% had experienced three or more episodes of abuse in that interval. Sexual violence was the commonest type (43.3%) of VAW experienced, followed by physical violence 38.7%. The main perpetrators of sexual violence in the last six months were clients (47.5%), brothel owners/co-sex workers (38.2%), police officers (4.0%), local thugs (8.0%) and strangers (2.3%). Sexual violence was significantly more experienced (P=0.002) by FSWs with primary or no education (57.7%) compared with those with more than secondary education (40.6%); and by FSWs from the high class (43.6% vs. 15.2%, P=0.51) and amongst those who had fewer years of work experience in SW (54.2 vs. 25.6%, P=0.03). Physical violence was significantly more experienced among older FSWs (55.0%) than their younger counterparts (32.9%) (P=0.002). Older respondents who had 10 years or more experience in SW were 1.9 more vulnerable than younger respondents with less than 10 years to economic violence (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.01-3.52). Interventions to end violence to FSWs and to discourage SW are needed.

Exposure and experience of domestic violence has negative consequences on children’s and youth’s social, emotional, mental and academic development. Most of the youth get violence exposure either as witness or as victim at home, a setting where primary socialization take place. Thus, by examining the association between youth’s mental health and violence at home using the data from the survey “Youth in India-Situation and Need-2006-07”, this study reveal that exposure of violence contributes to increased risk to suffer from mental health problem. Findings indicate the influence of domestic violence exposure and experience on mental health symptoms like unhappiness, depression, losing confidence and feeling of under strain.
Results imply high prevalence of domestic violence and adverse mental health among Indian youth. Though, several laws and policies have been set in motion to prevent the domestic violence but challenges remain same in some domains such as youth physical, mental health and overall development.

Two thirds of the youth become daily smokers before reaching 25 years of age, and few quit smoking in China. Unlike their counterparts in western countries, Chinese youth have limited knowledge about the harm that smoking can cause, which places them at risk of negative outcomes. Based on the data from 1st National Youth Reproductive Health Survey in 2009, using binominal and ordered probit models with a Heckman’s two-stage estimation procedure, this study examines the socio-demographic and life-style related determinants explaining both cigarette smoking and its frequency, respectively. The results indicate that both the occurrence of cigarette smoking and the frequency of cigarette smoking are mainly associated with lifestyle-related variables covering other nonsexual risk behaviors and sexual behavior. The conclusions reflect an urgent need for exploring the relationship between cigarette smoking and other health risk behaviors will be helpful for designing further tobacco control interventions among Chinese youth.

Present study investigates prevalence of reproductive health morbidities among unmarried adolescent men and women, their treatment-seeking behaviour and its association with socio demographic correlates in India. Data drawn form Youth in India: Situation and Needs study, conducted during 2006-08. It focused on 28,884 unmarried young women and men aged 15–24. Results of study witnessed a significant association between male and female adolescents with regard to prevalence of reproductive morbidity. It is quite high among unmarried men (28.0percent) than women (19.5percent). Bi-variate analysis shows that place of residence, age, caste, educational status, occupation, and wealth index variables emerged as significant association with prevalence of RH problems among unmarried female. in contrast, age, occupation, stayed outside home and exposure to media variables shows significant correlates with prevalence of RH problems among unmarried male. Residence and media exposure emerged as significant correlates of treatment-seeking practices among both unmarried men and women. Prevalence of reproductive health morbidity in this vulnerable group, particularly unmarried young men, requires urgent intervention of health planners.

This study examines the relationship between sexual behaviour and living conditions among adolescent residents of Iwaya, a slum in Lagos, Nigeria. One of the world’s fastest growing cities, Lagos has an estimated population of 16 million. Its unprecedentedly rapid population growth without a commensurate economic expansion has given rise to a disproportionate growth in the number of underpriviledged people within the city. These poor people are forced to reside in any of the over 100 slums, -areas typified by high-density housing and squalid surroundings-, that dot the metropolis. The extreme poverty and desperate social conditions in slum areas have severe health implications for women and adolescent girls. In particular, living in overcrowded slum dwellings is linked with risky sexual behavior among adolescents. In this study, quantitative and qualitative data from a 2011 study reveal that out-of-school adolescent girls residing in Iwaya slum, initiate sex at earlier ages and have more sexual partners than their counterparts nationwide. Contextual evidence from Focus Group Discussions corroborates quantitative data. These findings suggest that any intervention to ameliorate reproductive health behaviour of impoverished girls need to be accompanied with efforts to improve their economic circumstance.

While certain mass media exposure is associated with the presence of problem behaviors, little is known about the longitudinal impact of exposure to internet on the development of cigarette smoking and alcohol misuse in adolescents. Due to the pervasiveness of internet use among adolescents, this paper examines internet exposure and its linkage with future adolescent cigarette/alcohol use. It is also argued that this longitudinal relationship may differ by gender; an attempt is made to delineate plausible internet exposure revealed by boys versus girls in cigarette versus alcohol use. Data are taken from the Taiwan Youth Project, a cohort sample who did not have cigarette/alcohol use experience at age 16 with a 4-year follow-up. Measures of internet exposure include 3 aspects: where to use, why to use, and how often to use. To incorporate conventional determinants with peer, individual, and family characteristics measured at age 16 or younger, multivariate regressions are employed to estimate models in odds of development of cigarette smoking and alcohol misuse by age 20. Results confirm that in addition to the above determinants, adolescent internet exposure contributes to the development of cigarette smoking and alcohol misuse and its relationships vary by gender.

As school social work booming in China, group counseling is also recommended by the community in order to improve students’ well-being. As a key factor to achieve the initial group goal, professional relationship in group counseling should be discussed by the academics and practitioners in China. Aiming to improve well-being of participants in a group counseling in a Beijing high school, 11 school social workers served as the tutors in the group as well as the research objects in this study.
The data consisted of transcripts and field notes from in-depth, repeated qualitative interviews with the 11 school social workers, the author connoted how emotion and instrumental counseling influence the constructive professional relationship in practice. Constructive professional relationship, a dynamic, reciprocal, autonomic and multidirectional mixed-relation, tended to create a truly full of "love" scenario where students' authentic needs and the inherent potential of well-being can be released.