Effects of Precocious Puberty on Self-Esteem of Preteen Girls in Selected Public Primary Schools in Kilifi County, Kenya

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Date

2016-06

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Daystar University, School of Applied Human Sciences

Abstract

Pubertal maturation is a dynamic bio-psycho-social-emotional process accompanied by visible changes in stature, body composition, and secondary sexual characteristics. The timing of this transition is variable for different individuals. When puberty occurs too early, it can be a major source of low self-esteem in pre-teen girls. The purpose of this study was to establish how prevalent early puberty was, and then examine its effects on the self-esteem of pre-teen girls in public primary schools in Kilifi County. The objectives of this study were to: investigate the prevalence of precocious puberty, determine the relationship between social demographic characteristics and precocious puberty, and establish whether there was a relationship between early puberty and low self-esteem, among pre-teen girls in primary schools in Kilifi County. The study employed the cross sectional research design. The sample of 375 was drawn from the total 29,500, 8-10 year old girls who were in classes 3, 4 and 5 in public primary schools in Kilifi County. Primary data was collected using three instruments; a researcher developed social demographic questionnaire; the Rosenberg self-esteem scale and the Petersen’s puberty rating scale. The instruments were pilot-tested on a sample of 40 pre-teen girls who were randomly sampled from four selected primary schools in the study location, and who were omitted from the actual study sample. The data collected was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20. Major findings for this study were that: prevalence of precocious puberty was low and social demographic characteristics affected maturity. Chi Square scores for the relationship between early puberty and low self - esteem gave a P value of 0.345. Cumulative data and statistical tests showed that early puberty had a major effect on the self-esteem of pre-teen girls in primary schools in Kilifi County.

Description

MASTER OF ARTS in Counseling Psychology

Keywords

Pubertal maturation, secondary sexual, social demographic

Citation

Kawira, J. C. (2016). Effects of Precocious Puberty on Self-Esteem of Preteen Girls in Selected Public Primary Schools in Kilifi County, Kenya. Daystar University, School of Applied Human Sciences