Perception of adolescents towards reproductive health

Increased self-understanding, identity exploration, physical and emotional
changes, development of intimate relationships outside home, increased dependency on
friends, dilemmas, arguments with parents are all hallmarks of adolescent development.
Awareness of ones sexual development, romantic relations with the member of opposite
sex, curiosity and experimentation along with inadequate information and the preference
for unreliable sources of information on puberty and sex, can pose a serious threat to the
physical, emotional and social well being of adolescents. With adults admitting their
embarrassment and unpreparedness to handle the growing sexual interests of their
adolescent child and with the ever increasing number of adolescents who indulge in risk
taking behaviours like pre-marital and unprotected intercourse, the need to know and
understand adolescents and to inculcate a sense of responsibility in them is of utmost
importance. For this, it becomes even more important to know the meaning of
reproductive health and sexuality and also to know the meaning of the aforementioned
concepts as understood by adolescents. This would, in turn, help to explore and know
what adolescents perceive of reproductive health, sexuality and related issues. These
concepts and the issues related to adolescent sexuality and risk taking and the spheres of
influence that affect and shape adolescent sexuality, as discussed in the following pages,
form the bases of the present research.