Attitude and Factors Associated towards Pubertal Changes among Secondary-level Adolescent Students in Putalibazar Municipality, Syangja, Nepal

Abstract

Background: To assess the attitude and factors associated towards pubertal change among secondary-level adolescent students in Putalibazar Municipality, Syangja, Nepal. Materials and Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional study design was used to assess their attitudes through an Iconic Likert scale with the administration of a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire. Sampling technique for this research was Probability Proportionate to Size (PPS) followed by simple random sampling with the sample size of 228. The association between the dependent and independent variables was examined by using chi-square test. Furthermore, Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was carried out to identify the association between gender, grade of respondents and attitude towards pubertal changes. Results: The likelihood of a favorable attitude for male (AOR: 3.957, 95% CI: 2.233-7.010) was 4 times higher compared to female. Similarly, the odds of favorable attitude among grade 10 students (AOR: 1.815, 95% CI: 1.015-3.246) were 2 times higher compared to grade 9 students.  Conclusions: Significant gender and grade-level disparities are found in the research on views regarding pubertal changes among secondary-level adolescent students in Putalibazar Municipality, Syangja, Nepal. These findings emphasize the importance of addressing gender-specific and age-related needs when developing educational programs and support systems for adolescents navigating pubertal changes.