Knowledge of personal and sexual development amongst young people in Pakistan

Bibliographic Data

ID15099178
AuthorsMonique Hennink (0000-0002-5853-5791, University of Southampton, corresponding author), Imran Rana (b Helping Hands for Community Services , Lahore , Pakistan), Robina Iqbal (0000-0002-9590-7427, b Helping Hands for Community Services , Lahore , Pakistan)
Year2005
Volume7
Issue4
Pages319-332
Publication date2005-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCulture Health & Sexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-1058 • E-ISSN: 1464-5351
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13691050500035367
PMID16864206
OpenAlexW2170151424
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited3

Pakistan has one of the largest cohorts of young people in its history, yet research on their circumstances and needs is still relatively new. In this study, twenty four focus group discussions were conducted to explore young peoples' experiences of gaining knowledge of personal and sexual development. Young women typically gained information from a limited number of sources within the home, while young men accessed a wide variety of information sources outside the home. Gaining information was frequently event-based, whereby specific events (i.e. puberty, marriage) trigger information provision to young people, however often too late to be educative. Overall, young people were critical of the quality of information they received, which often led to confusion and stress in understanding sexual development. Findings highlight a gap in formal systems of information provision. Although young people highlighted the merits of school-based information delivery, low school attendance and high drop-out rates amongst girls mean that alternative mechanisms of reaching young Pakistani women need to be identified

Personal development · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · International Human Rights and Reproductive Law · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology