'Indian adolescents in metros
vulnerable to risky behaviour'
New
Delhi, Nov 14 (IANS) Indian adolescents in and around metropolitan
cities believe in partying hard and are vulnerable to risky
behaviour - be it physical intimacy, alcohol or drugs, says
a new study.
It
also indicates that girls are not far behind in partying,
smoking, drinking or even watching porn sites.
The
study was conducted by well-known psychiatrist Samir Parikh,
who surveyed 1,000 students studying in private schools in
Delhi and the suburban towns of Gurgaon and Noida. A total
of 541 boys and 459 girls in the 14-17 age group were studied.
"It
is an attitudinal survey, not a behavioural survey. Most of
these children are vulnerable and could get trapped into committing
risky behaviour," Parikh, head of the department of mental
health and behavioural sciences in Max Healthcare, told IANS.
The
survey noted that many of the boys and girls said it was "common
to be physically intimate with someone even though one is
reluctant to participate at times".
Most
of the boys and girls get involved in sexual relationships
due to pressure - be it peer pressure or media exposure, said
Parikh.
"These
children are vulnerable as sex is in their minds and they
are curious. They don't think it is risky behaviour. As they
don't think it is wrong, it could be dangerous later in their
lives when they get an opportunity. There are so many dangers,"
he said.
The
survey said that 15 percent boys as opposed to 10 percent
of girls fall in the category that is vulnerable to starting
a physical relationship.
The
study also found that a fair number of the respondents said
they believed that having one drink at parties was quite common.
About 16 percent boys believed this and themselves indulged
in the practice on many occasions.
Girls
are also not far behind when it comes to the occasional tipple,
with 11 percent believing this and not at all shy in trying
it out too.
Parikh
says what is worrisome is that more than 600 students, both
boys and girls from a sample of 1,000 students, had admitted
that they consume alcohol at parties.
Smoking
cigarettes in school premises was also found to be a frequent
occurrence.
Here
girls, at 33 percent, had a marginal edge over boys (31 percent).
"There seems to be a tilt towards smoking being an activity
that is indulged in school premises as well by quite a large
number of students," the study said.
Another
thing the survey found was that experimenting with new drugs
once in a while is common in all schools, especially at parties.
At
least 23 percent boys as compared to 13 percent girls experimented
with new drugs in parties, it said.
"These
results seem to indicate that parties seem to be occasions
in which a lot of risky indulgences take place," the
survey said.
Bragging
about visiting porn sites is also another common topic in
conversation among both boys and girls. "The data showed
that quite a high population of both boys and girls know or
visit sites that are not meant for their age groups,"
it said.
Also,
many of the respondents believed that television shows are
reflective of physical violence. "Most believe that television
shows are mostly about hitting, hurting and abusing others,"
said Parikh.
Noting
that there is a lot going on in an adolescent's mind, he said
that they need to be given life skills, which is unfortunately
lacking in India. "We need to address this for the children's
better, knowledgeable future," he said.
(Kavita
Bajeli-Datt can be contacted at kavita.d@ians.in)
Indo-Asian
News Service
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