Sexual and reproductive health of adolescent girls

Background: Adolescents have special sexual and reproductive health needs that remain unmet, mainly due to lack of knowledge, social stigma, and laws and policies, which prevent the provision of contraception and abortion to unmarried adolescents. Objective: The study aims to assess adolescent girls' sexual and reproductive health status and the impact of modern information technologies on their mental health and psychosexual and psychosocial development. Materials and methods: The study subject is a group of 10-19 years old adolescent girls (n=700) randomly selected from different regions of Armenia, including Yerevan. Results: There is a general connection between adolescents' social media use and negative indicators of sexual and reproductive health. In Armenia 69.8% of adolescents don't have any information about contraceptives, and 55.3% of adolescents don't have any information about sexually transmitted infections. Accelerated sexual development has been registered among 21.3% of adolescents before menarche and 18.3% up to 19 years. Delayed sexual development has been documented among 15.6% of adolescents before menarche and 7.2% up to 19 years. Suppressed sexual development has been registered in 12.2% of adolescents before menarche and 5.3% up to 19 years. Early sexual debut increases the risk of sexually transmitted infections (44.7%), including Human papillomavirus (15.9%). Conclusion: Sexual and reproductive health education and limited use of social media are keys to reducing the adverse effect of modern information technologies on adolescent girls' sexual, mental, and reproductive health. Adolescents need age-appropriate comprehensive sex education, adequate health service, and supportive environments for growth and development.

adolescent girls, sexual and reproductive health, mental health, psychosexual development