Problems of Secondary School Students in Senegal

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Abstract
The problems of 778 boys and girls in Senegal aged from 13 to 22 years were investigated with use of an open-ended questionnaire. These secondary school students mentioned in order of decreasing frequency the following problems: school problems (45.9%), political and social problems (14.0%), lack of self-confidence (12.4%), financial problems (11.3%), and vocational problems (9.4%). Family adjustment (4.0%) and sex problems (1.5%) obtained minor percentages. Students in villages were more confronted with financial, political, and social problems and less with school problems than the urban population. The average number of problems reported by boys was significantly (p = .02) higher than those reported by girls, in sharp contrast with the results of most American studies on the subject. Sex differences in the frequency of problems were found to be remarkably stable throughout age.