Adolescents Aspiration and Their Parental Relations: A Study among Rural School Going Adolescents in a Block of Darjeeling District

Abstract

Background: Adolescents’ future aspirations and expectations are important precursor of adult attainment. Objectives: To document rural adolescents’ understanding of their aspirations and the problems they face for achieving them. The relationship of adolescents with their family and how they feel about themselves have also been determined. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among school-going adolescents of Fashidewa block of Darjeeling district from July to October, 2007. A total of 420 students comprised the study population. Results - Among them, 41.4%, responded that they want to pursue a professional career in future. Poverty was found to be the commonest obstacle. The commonest problem-solving method was having discussions with friends. The study revealed that 56.4% of the adolescents communicated their problem and about 27.6% of them had conflict with their parents in last one year. Conclusion: Interventions at the community level like youth clubs for safe social interaction and literacy classes, training of peer educators to teach life-skills, forums for parents and teachers to discuss their own concerns and those of the adolescents may help to design programmes that will contribute to greater financial independence and employment opportunities for adolescents

Keywords

• adolescent aspirations
• parental relations