DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2014.v02i01.0032

Pages: 157-161

Adolescence is a period characterized by the physical, psychological, and social changes in the individual. This is an age that has an important bearing on the future growth and development of the girls, both physically and psychologically. This was a community-based, descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted among adolescent girls in the age group of 10-19 years, residing in a rural (village) and urban (slum) areas of Maharashtra, India. The mean age of the total study population was 16.9±1.75 years. More number of girls residing in the urban area attained menarche at a younger age compared to the girls from rural area. Girls in urban areas were comparatively better cared for during this phase of life, compared to those who were from rural area. This study reveals that during adolescence, the care received by the girls is far from being satisfactory among a large proportion of the adolescent girls while ignorance, many false perceptions, certain unsafe practices regarding menstruation and reluctance of the mother to educate her child are also quite common among them.