Objective: It was observed in rural areas that,
myth, mystery and superstition have long enveloped
the facts about menstruation especially among
adolescent girls. In girls, menarche starts during
10 to 19 years. Girls feel shy to discuss this topic
openly. It was therefore considered relevant to
assess the psychology of beliefs and practices
relating to menstrual hygiene of adolescent girls
aged 11-16 years old in regard to various aspects
of menstruation, in rural area of Pakistan.
Design: The study applied was a descriptive
survey.
Place and Duration of study: This study was
carried out in BharaKahu Islamabad from Oct.
2014 to Nov. 2014.
Patients and Methods: A total of 416 postmenarche
adolescent girl students aged 11–16
years, in grade 6–10, living with their parents were
selected by random sampling and self-completed
questionnaires. Collected data was analysed by
using descriptive statistics, SPSS V.18.
Results: Of 416 participants, 63.0% respondents
were 11– 14 years old. 68.5% lived in a kacha
house. 56.8% did not follow all menstrual hygiene
practices recommended, they adopted menstrual
practices based on the dominant sociocultural
beliefs (51.0%) found in the BharaKahu society. A
significant association (p=0.001) was found
between describe menstrual hygiene practices
based on sociocultural beliefs. Cronbach’s α for
CDI and PSS was 0.96 and 0.88 respectively.
Conclusion: Finding indicates that menstrual
hygiene psychology and taboos are the issues.
Factors most influential are sociocultural belief
and both parents’ education levels.