Determinants of Adolescents Attitude Towards Gender Equality in Urban, Rural, and Tribal Areas of the Southern Part of India

Abstract

Background: Gender stereotyping and assumptions about men and women shape everyday personal interactions and attitudes on gender norms. Adolescents forming the future society would be playing an essential role in practising gender equality norms and inculcating it in future generations. Hence the study was undertaken to know the adolescent's attitude towards gender equality norms and to explore its determinants. Objectives: To assess the attitude of adolescents towards gender equality in Urban, Rural, and Tribal areas of Mysuru district. To determine the association of socio-demographic variables, interpersonal influences of family, friends, and experiences of gender bias with adolescent’s attitude towards gender equality. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the urban, rural, and tribal areas of Mysuru district using multistage sampling. Data was collected from 500 adolescents by a pre-structured and pre-tested, validated questionnaire and analysis was done using SPSS V.24. Results: 50.5% of adolescents had negative attitude scores towards gender equality, and 79.3 % of adolescent girls had reported the personal experience of gender bias. Age, Sex, Residence, interpersonal influence of family and friends and personal experience of gender bias among adolescent girls showed significant association with their attitude towards gender equality. Conclusion: Nearly, half of the adolescents have a negative attitude towards gender equality, and more than three fourth of adolescent girls had personally experienced gender bias. The influence of family and friends was significant in determining the attitude of adolescents towards gender equality norms.

Keywords

• adolescents
• gender equality
• urban
• rural
• tribal