Department of Rural Management, Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi, India.
Soc Work Public Health. 2011;26(6):594-604. doi: 10.1080/19371918.2010.525144.
The study attempts to find out the existing social and cultural practices regarding menstruation, awareness levels, and the behavioral changes that come about in adolescent girls during menstruation, their perception about menarche, how do they treat it, and the various taboos, norms, and cultural practices associated with menarche. The study was conducted on 117 adolescent girls (age 11-20 years) and 41 mothers from various communities and classes in Ranchi comprising residential colonies and urban slums. The findings unfolds many practices: cultural and social restrictions associated with menstruation, myth, and misconception; the adaptability of the adolescent girls toward it; their reaction, reaction of the family; realization of the importance of menstruation; and the changes that have come in their life after menarche and their resistance to such changes. The article also suggests the strategies to improve menstrual health and hygiene among adolescent girls. The study concludes that cultural and social practices regarding menstruation depend on girls' education, attitude, family environment, culture, and belief.
本研究试图了解现有的关于月经的社会文化习俗、青少年女孩在月经期间的意识水平和行为变化、她们对初潮的看法、如何对待初潮，以及与初潮相关的各种禁忌、规范和文化习俗。该研究在印度恰尔肯德邦的不同社区和阶层（包括住宅区和城市贫民窟）中对 117 名 11-20 岁的少女和 41 位母亲进行了调查。研究结果揭示了许多做法：与月经相关的文化和社会限制、神话和误解；少女对其的适应能力；她们的反应、家庭的反应；对月经重要性的认识；以及初潮后她们生活中发生的变化以及对这些变化的抵制。文章还提出了改善少女月经健康和卫生的策略。该研究的结论是，关于月经的文化和社会习俗取决于女孩的教育、态度、家庭环境、文化和信仰。
