Adolescent lifestyle and behaviour: a survey from a developing country.

Introduction: Adolescents form two-thirds of our population. This is a unique group of people with special needs. Our survey aims to identify the lifestyle and behavioral patterns in this group of people and subsequently come up with issues that warrant special attention. Methods: A survey was performed in various schools of Karachi. Data collection was done via a face-to-face interview based on a structured, pre-tested questionnaire. Participants included all willing persons between 12-19 years of age. Results: Most adolescents with lifestyle issues fell in the age group of 16-18 years. Females were more depressed than males and had more sleep problems. Substance abuse and other addictions were documented more in males. Watching television or listening to music was stated as the most common late night activity (61.8%) and therefore was also referred to as the contributory factor for less than eight hours of sleep each day. (58.9%) of the respondents are getting less than eight hours of sleep daily. (41.5%) of the respondents who felt depressed sought treatment for it. Quite a few of them were also indulged in substance abuse and other addictions. Only (16.8%) of the respondents opined that physical activity is essential for health. Thirty-five adolescents out of all the respondents were smoking cigarettes currently, whereas 7% of the respondents chewed paan (areca nut). Peer pressure was the most common reason (37.1%) to start smoking. Conclusion: Adolescents need to be treated as a distinct segment of our population and it is important to realize and address their health and lifestyle problems. Inadequate sleep, depression and smoking were the leading unhealthy behaviours among the respondents. Families can play an important role to help these adolescents live a healthier life. Further research studies should be carried out to highlight issues of concern and their possible solutions in this population

Gender Differences in Imaginary Audience And Depressive Symptomatology Among College Students

OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to investigate gender differences on Imaginary Audience (IA) and depression among college students. METHODOLOGY: Six hundred college students, both boys (n=299) and girls (n=274) completed cross sectional survey. Data was collected from different colleges of Peshawar (KPK) from September- December 2016 using purposive sampling technique. The age range of the sample was 17-22 (M=19, SD=1.47) years. Two scales, New Imaginary Audience Scale (NIAS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were administered to them.   RESULTS: Analysis of the findings was made using stepwise deletion technique for sample distribution and t-test. Statistically significant gender differences were found on New Imaginary Audience Scale (t=-2.48, p= .001) and Beck Depression Inventory (t=3.07, p= .02). Mean score was on NIAS were among girls, while on depression boys mean scores were prominent. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study concluded gender differences on both variables i-e NIAS and Depression. The findings further suggest that girls have prominent features of new imaginary audience in their student’s life whereas, boys pertain depressive symptoms during this period

Adolescent lifestyle and behaviour: a survey from a developing country.

Adolescents form two-thirds of our population. This is a unique group of people with special needs. Our survey aims to identify the lifestyle and behavioral patterns in this group of people and subsequently come up with issues that warrant special attention.A survey was performed in various schools of Karachi. Data collection was done via a face-to-face interview based on a structured, pre-tested questionnaire. Participants included all willing persons between 12-19 years of age.Most adolescents with lifestyle issues fell in the age group of 16-18 years. Females were more depressed than males and had more sleep problems. Substance abuse and other addictions were documented more in males. Watching television or listening to music was stated as the most common late night activity (61.8%) and therefore was also referred to as the contributory factor for less than eight hours of sleep each day. (58.9%) of the respondents are getting less than eight hours of sleep daily. (41.5%) of the respondents who felt depressed sought treatment for it. Quite a few of them were also indulged in substance abuse and other addictions. Only (16.8%) of the respondents opined that physical activity is essential for health. Thirty-five adolescents out of all the respondents were smoking cigarettes currently, whereas 7% of the respondents chewed paan (areca nut). Peer pressure was the most common reason (37.1%) to start smoking.Adolescents need to be treated as a distinct segment of our population and it is important to realize and address their health and lifestyle problems. Inadequate sleep, depression and smoking were the leading unhealthy behaviours among the respondents. Families can play an important role to help these adolescents live a healthier life. Further research studies should be carried out to highlight issues of concern and their possible solutions in this population