Abstract
In India, ranked 132nd out of 148 countries on the United Nations Gender Inequality Index (2013), females face numerous challenges that pose a threat to their sexual health and psychological well-being. This chapter focuses specifically on adolescent unmarried females living in an urban slum, a particularly vulnerable segment of the population that is important to empower in order to effect change. This chapter examines psychological well-being and sexual health of adolescent girls from their own perspectives. To understand the unique perspectives of adolescent girls regarding the constructs of psychological well-being, gender roles, and sexual health, the authors analyzed focus group and interview data collected as part of the Promoting Psychological Well-Being Globally Study. Through the use of the deductive–inductive coding process, the authors identified overall themes that elucidate the perspectives of the population. Findings documented the intersection of sexual health, gender roles, and psychological well-being constructs. Additionally, the findings showed a trend of girls understanding the importance of having sexual health knowledge, but oftentimes, having limited access to this information themselves. The interactional relationships among sexual health, gender roles, and psychological well-being and the dearth of sexual health knowledge among adolescent girls elucidate the importance of designing interventions that are multidimensional. Other implications, future research directions, and limitations are discussed.
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Acknowledgments
Funding for this project was provided for by a faculty seed grant to the second author from Tulane University Framework for Global Health Program. The content of this document is based on the master’s thesis of the first author, completed as partial fulfillment of requirements for a doctoral degree in School Psychology at Tulane University. Gratitude is extended to Apnalaya, a community-based organization in Mumbai, for assistance in recruitment and data collection.
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Adelson, E., Nastasi, B., Maitra, S., Ballal, D., Rajan, L. (2016). Sexual Health, Gender Roles, and Psychological Well-Being: Voices of Female Adolescents from Urban Slums of India. In: Nastasi, B., Borja, A. (eds) International Handbook of Psychological Well-Being in Children and Adolescents. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2833-0_6
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