Social Support System in Overcoming Social Barriers: A Case Study of Adolescent Girls in Birbhum Chakraborty Madhura*, Sarkar Asok Kumar Department of Social Work, Visva-Bharati, Sriniketan, West Bengal, India *Corresponding author: chadnichakraborty@yahoo.co.in
Online published on 4 March, 2020. Abstract Adolescence is a bridge between childhood and adulthood. The period of adolescence begins with the onset of puberty, a rapid change in physical growth accompanied by continuous sexual maturity and reaches to an end when individual assumes adulthood. The adolescents possess the tendency to experiment and attempt to push the boundaries and in this process they often indulge themselves into risky behaviors without having understanding of the consequences, which makes them vulnerable and it is a matter of concern. Adolescents constitute 21% of India's population and number about 243 million. Total population of adolescents of 15–18 years in West Bengal is 23, 68, 519. Even with such high number of adolescents it is found that they have very limited space to share their point of view and concerns. Their needs especially of the adolescent girls remain unheard and unmet, making the condition of girl adolescents more vulnerable. Their mobility is also often controlled by others. So to meet the unheard needs, adolescents should have assistance from the family and society. Social support here plays a crucial role, which has been characterized from numerous points of view. It has a number of positive effects on the recipient, for instance, it influences self-confidence, sense of belongingness, self-esteem, and so on. In this paper by analyzing three cases the author has tried to explore how effective social support facilitates adolescent girls in overcoming social barriers in Birbhum district. Top Keywords Social Support, Adolescent, Social Barriers. Top |