| Abstract: | Adolescents are the future adults of the world. While adolescence is typically regarded as a period of life relatively free from health problems, adolescents are actually in need of the attention of health professionals and health services, especially with regard to sexual health. A trend of decreasing age at menarche and increasing age at marriage presents adolescents with a substantial number of years in which they will experiment with their developing reproductive organs and sexuality. Substantial psychological and physical change takes place during this period. Inconsistent and suboptimal users of contraception, youths are at high risk for reproductive health problems and sexually transmitted diseases. Substance abuse, unintentional and intentional injuries and their sequelae, academic underachievement and illiteracy, and obesity may also be problematic for adolescents. Adolescents are, however, most damaged by internalized and externalized homophobia. The authors point out that adolescents may be persuaded to learn and change their behaviors more readily than adults. Appropriate messages could be conveyed through targeted information, education, and communication strategies to complement medical and health care services which are available, accessible, and acceptable. |
