Menstrual Health Education And Its Psychosocial Impact On Adolescent Girls: A Comprehencive Review

Abstract

The menstrual cycle is often linked to stigma, misunderstandings, and misleading information, even though it is a natural biological event.  Menstrual education has a significant impact on the psychological well-being, confidence, and self-esteem of teenage girls.  Since schools are a crucial place for social and emotional development, it's vital to consider how effective menstruation education may be in the classroom. Adolescence is a period of potential and discovery, but for women, menstruation ultimately becomes the primary source of limits and humiliation due to the various societal and psychological structures around it.  Due to limited availability to feminine hygiene products and inadequate menstrual hygiene practices, which can lead to a variety of diseases and reproductive tract infections, teenage girls find menstruation to be an unpleasant experience. Through data analysis, this study seeks to provide significant insights into the potential benefits of comprehensive menstruation education programs in promoting teenage girls' confidence, self-worth, and overall psychological well-being.  In order to investigate how menstrual health education (MHE) influences teenage girls' psychological health, personality development, and involvement in school, this review combines data from multiple academic sources. It focuses on the differences between public and private school settings. Evidence also highlights the effectiveness of targeted intervention programs and the necessity of an inclusive, culturally sensitive, and school-integrated approach to menstrual education.

Background: Menstrual health and cleanliness are still very important but not talked about enough when it comes to growing up, especially in underdeveloped nations like India.  Cultural taboos, ignorance, and insufficient information around menstruation lead to adverse emotional experiences, school absences, and detrimental mental health outcomes among teenage females.  The research that was looked at show that false information, stigma, and a lack of support systems make it very hard for young girls to feel good about themselves and their mental health during puberty.

Objectives:  The primary objectives extracted from the literature are: To investigate the influence of menstruation education on the psychological health and personality development of teenage females, to evaluate the impact of menstrual hygiene knowledge on diminishing stigma and enhancing self-esteem and confidence, investigate the necessity of integrating menstruation education into school curricula to cultivate a supportive atmosphere and find loopholes in the present educational and societal systems that deal with menstruation health.

Method:  This article serves as a literature review, encompassing research that employed diverse methodologies, including: quantitative surveys: to evaluate knowledge levels, school attendance, and emotional effects. Intervention-based studies assessing the effects of educational programs on menstrual health awareness and cleanliness behaviours, comparative analyses between urban and rural populations, or between public and private school systems.