INTRODUCTION:

Life is full of things that make us constantly re-define for ourselves what makes us happy. That is why decisions have to be made, and that is the reason why choices exist. However we do things that makes us as well as others extremely unhappy.

Marriage is an important decision many people have to face in their lifetime. In some countries it is the custom or the families’ wishes that their son or daughter marry their first cousin. The cousins would of course share common ancestors, and therefore also share similar if not some identical genetic information.¹ Consanguineous marriage is common, unions contracted between persons biologically related as second cousins are categorized as consanguineous. Consanguineous unions range from cousin – cousin to more distant relatedness, and their prevalence varies by culture.²World Health Organization (2006) report points out the increasing rates of congenital anomalies and mental disabilities under consanguineous marriages. Consanguineous marriage has strong impact on mortality, morbidity and fertility.³

If one looks at consanguinity in India, 14% of marriages in India are consanguineous with maximum of 46% of marriages in South India being consanguineous.⁴The prevalence of consanguineous unions is highest in Tamil Nadu (38%) followed by Andhra Pradesh (30%). States like Maharashtra and Karnataka also show considerable occurrence of consanguineous marriages i.e., 29% and 28%, respectively. On the contrary, Himachal Pradesh, show the lowest percentage (1%) of women marrying to their blood relatives. The prevalence also differs by major religion all over India as in Hindus it was 10.6%, Muslims 23.3%, Buddhists 17.1%, Sikh 1.5%, Jain 4.3% and others 8.7%. The women in consanguineous union are more likely to have adverse pregnancy outcomes including stillbirths (RR=1.59, p-value < 0.01), abortions (RR = 3.03, p-value < 0.01), miscarriages (RR=1.94, p-value < 0.01) and spontaneous miscarriages (RR=1.70, p-value < 0.01) than non-consanguineous marriage. The consanguineous marriages continue to be a critical predictor of adverse pregnancy outcomes in India.⁵

OBJECTIVES:

1. To assess the existing knowledge regarding effects of consanguineous marriage on offspring among young adults.

2. To determine the effectiveness of structured teaching programme on knowledge regarding effects of consanguineous marriage on offspring among young adults.

HYPOTHESES:

H₀:- There is no significant difference between pre-test and post-test knowledge scores of young adults regarding effects of consanguineous marriage on offspring which is measured by structured questionnaire at p<0.05 level of significance.

H₁:- There is significant difference between pre-test and post-test knowledge scores of young adults regarding effects of consanguineous marriage on offspring which is measured by structured questionnaire at p<0.05 level of significance.

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

A pre-experimental and descriptive evaluatory research approach was used with one group pre-test post-test design to evaluate the effectiveness of the structured teaching programme. 60 samples were selected by probability – simple random sampling technique by lottery method. The pre test was administered to 60 young adults followed by the STP. After 7 (seven) days, post test was conducted to the same samples using the same tool. Data gathered was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in terms of frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and Paired ’t’ test.

RESULTS:

Majority of respondents belongs to 37 (61.67%) were from the age group of 20-21 years of age and rest were 23(38.33%) were from the age group18-19 years of age. In relation to gender, 35 (58.33%) were males and the rest 25(41.67%) were females. Majority of the subjects were Hindu by religion 47(78.33%), 2(3.33%) young adult were Muslim, 5 (8.33%) were Christian and 6 (10%) belonged from others. According to area of residence, 41 (68.33%) were from urban and the rest 19 (31.67%) from rural area. In relation to type of family, 47(78.33%) were from nuclear family, 7(11.67%) were from joint family and 6(10%) were from extended family. Regarding family history of consanguineous marriages, 17(28.33%) had family history of consanguineous marriages and 43 (71.67%) had no history of consanguineous marriages.

Table no 1: Distribution of sample with regard to pre –test knowledge regarding effects of consanguineous marriage on offspring n=60

Level of Knowledge	Percentage Score	Pre test
Level of Knowledge	Percentage Score	F	%
Inadequate	(<50%)	39	65
Moderate	(51-75%)	18	30
Adequate	(>75%)	3	5

The above table no 1 show the frequency and percentage distribution of young adults according to the pre test level of knowledge regarding effects of consanguineous marriage on offspring. The levels of knowledge were seen into 3 categories, inadequate, moderate and adequate of young adults more than half of the young adults 39 (65%) had inadequate level of knowledge, 18 (30%) had moderate level of knowledge and 3 (5%) had adequate level of knowledge.

Fig no 1: Distribution of sample with regard to pre –test knowledge regarding effects of consanguineous marriage on offspring

Table no 2: Comparison of knowledge score in pretest and post test

n=60

Level of knowledge	Percentage score	Pre test		Post- test
Level of knowledge	Percentage score	F	%	F	%
Inadequate	(<50%)	39	65	2	3.33
Moderate	(51-75%)	18	30	30	50
Adequate	(>75%)	3	5	28	46.67
Total		60	100	60	100

Table no 2 depicts the overall mean knowledge scores of pre-test and post-test, which reveals that, In pre-test, majority of the young adults 39(65%) had inadequate knowledge, followed by 18 (30%) had moderate knowledge and only 3 (5%) adequate knowledge. In post-test, majority of the young adults 30(50%) had moderate knowledge, followed by 28 (46.67%) had adequate knowledge and only 2(3.33%) had inadequate knowledge. Hence H₁ is accepted and H₀ is rejected.

Fig no 2: Comparison of pre test and post test knowledge scores.

CONCLUSION:

The major findings revealed that structured teaching programme enhanced the knowledge of the young adults on effects of consanguineous marriage on offspring. The overall mean percentage of post-test knowledge scores of the young adults 76.31% is apparently higher than the overall mean percentage of pre-test knowledge score 53.75% and is significant at 0.05% level. Paired ‘t’ =16.25, p<0.05 indicating that the STP was effective in gaining knowledge of the young adults on effects of consanguineous marriage on offspring.

REFERENCES:

1. Sara Kapadia. Consanguineous marriages [unpublished dissertation] Homerton College Cambridge University; 2000.

2. K. Park. Park’s textbook of preventive and social medicine. 19^th edition, Banarsidas Bhanot publishers; 2007, Page no.681-682.

3. Soujanya J Puar, “A study to assess the knowledge regarding consanguineous marriages and its genetic effects among young adults with a view to develop a informational guide sheet at selected degree colleges in Tumkur.” Asian journal of Nursing education and research. 3 (1): Jan- march 2013; Page 31-32.

4. Sonkar VK, et.al Consanguineous Marriage and Reproductive Behaviour: A Study from Vidarbha Region of Maharashtra. Natl J Community Med 2013; 4(3): 433- 438.

5. Shrikant Kuntla, et. al, Consanguineous marriages and their effect on pregnancy outcomes in India. Paper presented at XXVII IUSSP International Population Conference. Busan, Republic of Korea, 2013, 26^th – 31^th Aug.

Received on 04.10.2015 Modified on 17.10.2015

Int. J. Nur. Edu. and Research 4(1): Jan.-Mar., 2016; Page 89-91

DOI: 10.5958/2454-2660.2016.00020.X