Muganwa Kellen, Bazirete Oliva, Uwimana Marie Chantal, Musabwasoni Marie Grace Sandra, Tengera Olive, Bahumura Joy, Chinwe Hellen Nwanko, Uwingabire Emmerence, Muteteri Elyse, Mujawamariya Francoise, Habyarimana Emmanuel, Mukeshimana Eugenie, Ndimurukundo Baudouine, Abagirinana Verene, Nsengiyumva Richard, Wabenya Christine Mbila, Mugisha Vincent, Kaberuka Gerard, Bazakare Marie Laetitia Ishimwe, Uhawenimana Thierry Claudien
School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.
University of Teaching Hospital, Kigali, Rwanda.
PLoS One. 2025 Jun 24;20(6):e0325502. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0325502. eCollection 2025.
The transition from puberty to adolescence involves significant body changes that manifest differently across young children. It is essential that adolescents become aware of these changes so that they can easily navigate puberty's physical, emotional, and interpersonal changes safely in terms of sexual and reproductive health. In Rwanda, there remains a gap in literature on adolescents' awareness and experiences of pubertal changes among school going adolescents; particularly among those enrolled as day students. This research was undertaken to explore the awareness and understanding of puberty-related changes among school-aged adolescents, as well as their personal experiences of these changes. The findings aim to enhance the sexual education curriculum in Rwanda, with a particular emphasis on day students in rural regions who may be vulnerable to peer and societal pressures that can potentially expose them risky sexual behaviours.
A qualitative study was conducted with 120 school-going adolescent girls and boys. Participants were selected using a purposive sampling approach. Twelve focused group discussions were formed in six secondary schools from rural and urban 12-years basic education in the Eastern province of Rwanda. Deductive thematic analysis was used to analyse data using Dedoose software.
The analysis yielded two main themes: i) what adolescents know about the changes occurring during puberty, encompassing physical, emotional, and behavioral transformations, as well as the social interactions linked to these changes and their perceptions regarding the factors that influence these changes, and ii) personal experiences pertaining to the changes associated with puberty. Most of the participants were aware of body changes that happen during puberty. While puberty marked an achievement of maturity for most of the participants, the onset of menarche for female adolescents was unique due to the embarrassment it caused them.
The study found that some young girls experience menarche unprepared and get inadequate support to initially navigate that change. Therefore, caregivers should proactively get educated on pubertal changes so that they provide appropriate support to children to navigate puberty safely.
从青春期到青少年期的转变涉及显著的身体变化，这些变化在不同的青少年身上表现各异。青少年了解这些变化至关重要，这样他们就能在性健康和生殖健康方面安全地应对青春期的身体、情感和人际变化。在卢旺达，关于在校青少年对青春期变化的认知和经历的文献仍存在空白；尤其是那些注册为走读生的青少年。本研究旨在探讨学龄青少年对与青春期相关变化的认知和理解，以及他们对这些变化的个人经历。研究结果旨在加强卢旺达的性教育课程，特别关注农村地区的走读生，他们可能容易受到同伴和社会压力的影响，这些压力可能使他们面临危险的性行为。
对120名在校青少年男女进行了定性研究。采用目的抽样法选择参与者。在卢旺达东部省的六所农村和城市12年基础教育的中学中，组织了12次焦点小组讨论。使用Dedoose软件，采用演绎主题分析法对数据进行分析。
分析得出两个主要主题：i）青少年对青春期发生的变化的了解，包括身体、情感和行为转变，以及与这些变化相关的社会互动和他们对影响这些变化的因素的看法，ii）与青春期相关变化的个人经历。大多数参与者都意识到青春期会发生身体变化。虽然青春期对大多数参与者来说标志着成熟的达成，但女性青少年月经初潮的到来因其带来的尴尬而独具特点。
研究发现，一些年轻女孩在月经初潮时毫无准备，并且在最初应对这种变化时得到的支持不足。因此，照顾者应该主动接受关于青春期变化的教育，以便他们能为孩子提供适当的支持，使其安全度过青春期。
