Mental health assessment of adolescent girls in an observational home in North coastal Andhra Pradesh: a cross sectional study

Authors

  • Mounica Kollabathula Department of Community Medicine, Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
  • Devi Madhavi Bhimarasetty Department of Community Medicine, Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20191827

Keywords:

Mental health, Adolescent girls, Strengths and difficulties questionnaire

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a stressful period involving changes both physically and mentally and requires support from family as well as peers. Assessment of mental health of adolescent girls in government special cum children home and observational home for girls in Visakhapatnam.

Methods: It is a cross sectional descriptive study conducted in November 2016 using strengths and difficulties questionnaire among all 10 to 18 year old girls in the observational home. Social history was also taken additionally. Data was entered and analyzed in Microsoft Excel.

Results: 16% girls had abnormal total difficulty scoring. Emotional problems were the highest (22%) followed by conduct (16%), peer problem (14%) and hyperactivity (5%). Abnormal pro social behavior was observed among 5% of the study population observed.

Conclusions: Emotional problems were more common and only two thirds had and a normal total difficulties score. All children may be assessed periodically to know their psychological requirements and to identify at risk individuals.

Author Biographies

Mounica Kollabathula, Department of Community Medicine, Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India

Postgraduate (MD), Department of Community Medicine, Andhra Medical College

Devi Madhavi Bhimarasetty, Department of Community Medicine, Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India

Professor & Head, Department of Community Medicine, Andhra Medical College

References

Feldman SS, Elliot GR. At the threshold ‘The developing Adolescent’. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990:3.

Park S. A Text Book of Preventive & Social Medicine. 22nd Ed. Jabalpur: Bhanot Publishers, 2013.

World Health Organization. Adolescent Mental Health: 2018. Available at: https://www.who.int/ news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health. Accessed on 04 February 2019.

Patel V, Flisher A, Hetrick S, McGorryP. Mental Health of Young People: a Global Public Health Challenge. Lancet. 2007;369:1302-13.

Available at: https://www.ehcap.co.uk/content/sites/ ehcap/uploads/NewsDocuments/236/SDQEnglishUK4-17scoring-1.PDF. Accessed on 04 February 2019.

Seenivasan P, Kumar CP. A comparison of mental health of urban Indian adolescents among working and non-working mothers. Annals Comm Health. 2014;2:39–43.

Nair S, Ganjiwale J, Kharod N, Varma J, Nimbalkar SM. Epidemiological survey of mental health in adolescent school children of Gujarat, India. BMJ Paediatr Open. 2017;1(1):e000139.

Faizi N, Azmi SA, Ahmad A, Shah MS. Assessment of psychological problems in schoolgoing adolescents of Aligarh. Ind Psychiatry J. 2016;25(2):184-8.

Dhoundiyal M, Venkatesh R. The psychological world of adolescence: a comparative evaluation between rural and urban girls. Indian J Psychol Med. 2009;31(1):35-8.

Kharod N, Kumar D. Mental health status of school going adolescents in rural area of Gujarat. Indian J Youth Adolesc Health. 2015;2:17 21.

Bhola P, Sathyanarayanan V, Rekha DP, Daniel S, Thomas T. Assessment of self-reported emotional and behavioral difficulties among pre-university college students in Bangalore, India. Indian J Community Med. 2016;41:146-50.

Khurana S, Sharma N, Jena S, Saha R, Ingle GK. Mental Health Status of Runaway Adolescents. Indian J Pediatr. 2004;71(5):405-9.

Downloads

Published

2019-04-27

How to Cite

Kollabathula, M., & Bhimarasetty, D. M. (2019). Mental health assessment of adolescent girls in an observational home in North coastal Andhra Pradesh: a cross sectional study. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 6(5), 2103–2107. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20191827

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles