IJSR International Journal of Scientific Research 2277 - 8179 Indian Society for Health and Advanced Research ijsr-9-3-24544 Original Research Paper Comparison of Awareness on Teenage Pregnancy Among Adolescent in Selected Schools of Urban And Rural Areas of Kamrup District, Assam. Choudhury Dr. March 2020 9 3 01 02 ABSTRACT

Background: Teenage pregnancy is significant medical and social problem in many parts of the world. Complication of the child birth and unsafe abortion are among the main causes of death for women under 20. Early teenage pregnancy can cause severe health problems for both the mother and child. Moreover, an early start to childbearing greatly reduces women’s educational and employment opportunities and is associated with higher levels of fertility. According to UNESCO, teenage pregnancy rate in India is 21.7% in 2017. Objective: The objective of the study was comparison of awareness on Teenage Pregnancy among adolescent in selected schools of urban & rural areas of Kamrup District, Assam. Material and method: The study was a comparative descriptive study conducted in different schools of urban and rural areas of Kamrup District, Assam. Data was collected from 230 rural students and 260 urban students studied in class ix, x, xi by using stratified random sampling technique. Self Structured questionnaire on teenage pregnancy was used. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: The study showed that11.30% of rural adolescent and 20.77% of urban adolescent had inadequate level of awareness; 87.39% of rural adolescent and 68.46% of urban adolescent had moderate level of awareness; 1.23% of rural adolescent and 10.77% of urban adolescent had adequate level of awareness on teenage pregnancy. The mean score of awareness level on teenage pregnancy among rural adolescent was 18.83 and the mean score of awareness level on teenage pregnancy among urban adolescent was 18.85. The ‘t’ test (p =0.840) was found not significant. So it was evident that there was no difference in awareness level on Teenage pregnancy among rural and urban adolescent. The study findings also revealed that there was significant association between awareness on teenage pregnancy and selected socio–demographic variables among urban adolescent namely age (df=2, p=0.007), gender (df=2, p= 0.002), educational status of mother (df=4, p=0.003), income of family (df=6, p=0.000), father education (df=4, p=0.00) and mother education (df=6, p=0.000) at 0.05 level of significance. Whereas, there was no significant association between awareness level on teenage pregnancy and selected socio–demographic variables among rural adolescent. Conclusion: It was observed that the rural and urban adolescent were moderately aware about teenage pregnancy. However, there is a need to inform the adolescent about the teenage pregnancy, its causes, consequences of teenage pregnancy on mother and their children and preventive measures on teenage pregnancy.