“When I woke up I was so worried and ashamed, I thought it was a disease”: Adolescent boys’ transitions through puberty in Kenya

Abstract

Growing evidence suggests a need for more focused attention on boys’ experiences of puberty in sub-Saharan Africa to assure healthy transitions into young adulthood. Existing research remains limited on the masculinity norms shaping boys’ maturation experiences in Kenya. To help fill this gap, we conducted a comparative case study using qualitative methodologies with 16–19-year-old male youth in rural and urban Kenya, and with adults interacting in boys’ daily lives. Findings suggest that Kenyan boys experience shame, confusion and silence around changes happening in their bodies; face pressures from new societal expectations as they become young men; and have adolescent lives shaped by minimal supervision, increased peer pressures and engagement in more risky health behaviors. Additional research and targeted interventions on boys transitioning through puberty and early adolescence are needed to better understand their vulnerabilities and prevent or reduce their engagement in unsafe behaviors.

Pubertal status and body image: An inquiry into experiences of adolescents in Ghana and Kenya

“…First, in the qualitative results, amidst the comments from the adolescents about the universality and the growth associated with puberty were a number of comments and expressed emotions centered around shyness, shame, anxiety, and stress about the pubertal process, the changes, and other people's reactions with more pronounced fears among prepubertal Kenyan sample. This theme of shyness, shame, anxiety, and stress centered around puberty is echoed in studies within Africa (Bello et al, 2017;Carney et al, 2022;Riboli et al, 2022;Sommer & Ackatia-Armah, 2012;Sommer et al, 2015) and in other contexts, and with both genders such as with Swedish girls (Rembeck & Hermansson, 2008), Pakistani boys (Shivji et al, 2021), Iranian boys (Ahmadi et al, 2009;Koohestani et al, 2009), and Australian girls (Harvey et al, 2020).…”

“…In addition, some experiences and challenges of puberty are gender specific. Boy‐specific self‐reported challenges included lack of shaving gear, societal pressure to conform to masculinity norms, peer pressure to engage in risky and sexual behavior, fear of getting girls pregnant, fear of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted infections, and experiences of body odor (Bunoti et al., 2022; Carney et al., 2022). Girl‐specific challenges included a lack of essential menstrual hygiene products, unwanted sexual advances from men, and experiencing painful menstruation‐related symptoms (Bunoti et al., 2022), with the provision of sanitary ware shown to significantly mitigate some of the challenging aspects of puberty and menarche (Dolan et al., 2014).…”

“…Girl‐specific challenges included a lack of essential menstrual hygiene products, unwanted sexual advances from men, and experiencing painful menstruation‐related symptoms (Bunoti et al., 2022), with the provision of sanitary ware shown to significantly mitigate some of the challenging aspects of puberty and menarche (Dolan et al., 2014). Previous studies also indicate that the experiences of puberty and advanced pubertal status by both genders involve emotions such as fear, shame, worry about pubertal changes, and the need to regulate these changes (Bello et al., 2017; Carney et al., 2022; Sommer & Ackatia‐Armah, 2012; Sommer et al., 2015).…”

Impact of Educational Intervention of Knowledge about Puberty in Indonesia’s Junior High School Students

“…Strikingly, there's a notable absence of sexual and reproductive health education specifically tailored for boys. While educational efforts predominantly target girls, boys also experience fear and insecurity but often choose to suppress their emotions [5].…”