Contemporary Issues Affecting Adolescents — Hard

Q1. Consider the following statements about bullying: Statement I: Bullying is always overt — visible verbal or physical aggression that the teacher can observe in the classroom. Statement II: Spreading rumours and excluding a child from a group are also forms of bullying, even when no shouting or hitting takes place. Which of the above is/are correct?

• A. Only Statement I is correct
• B. Only Statement II is correct
• C. Both Statement I and Statement II are correct
• D. Neither Statement I nor Statement II is correct

Q2. Which of the following is NOT a factor that makes some children more 'prone to being bullied'?

• A. Personality traits such as shyness or being introverted
• B. Physical or mental disability
• C. Religion, race or sexual orientation
• D. Scoring the highest marks in the class test

Q3. Consider the two statements: Assertion (A): A class 7 student who bullies others over a long period also needs the teacher's serious attention and counselling, not only the victim. Reason (R): Adolescents who continue to bully tend to grow into adults more prone to violence, substance abuse and abusive behaviour towards family. Choose the correct option

• A. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
• B. Both A and R are true but R is NOT the correct explanation of A
• C. A is true but R is false
• D. A is false but R is true

Q4. Rahul, a class 8 student in Rampur, tells the school counsellor that he started smoking 'because my friends offered it and it helps me relax when I am tense before tests'. Rahul's statement most clearly illustrates which two reasons for adolescent substance use?

• A. Genetic inheritance and easy availability
• B. Medical prescription and parental permission
• C. Peer acceptance and using substances to reduce negative feelings such as tension
• D. Higher intelligence and curiosity about science

Q5. An upper-primary teacher suspects substance use in a class 8 student. The teacher should engage parents and ask them to look for which physical evidence at home?

• A. Empty vials, pouches and syringes that the child may have hidden
• B. Higher electricity bills and broken furniture
• C. Old NCERT textbooks and used notebooks
• D. Sports trophies and certificates

Q6. A case describes a class XI student of Delhi in an engineering tutorial who started drinking. This case is used primarily to make which point about adolescent substance use?

• A. Substance use is restricted to children from very poor families only
• B. Even bright students from urban, well-to-do backgrounds in competitive coaching are vulnerable to substance use
• C. Substance use is harmless if confined to weekends
• D. Engineering tutorials should be banned for school students

Q7. Which of the following consequences of teenage pregnancy is/are correct? (i) Underweight babies (ii) Complicated deliveries (iii) School dropout and disturbed education of the young mother (iv) Automatic guarantee of better maternal health than adult pregnancy

• A. (i) and (ii) only
• B. (i), (ii) and (iii) only
• C. (ii), (iii) and (iv) only
• D. All four — (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv)

Q8. According to NACO (National AIDS Control Organisation), the principal reason why young people are more vulnerable to HIV than adults is

• A. young people are physiologically more vulnerable to STIs and HIV than adults
• B. young people use better protective measures than adults
• C. young people are protected by school uniform from any infection
• D. HIV does not affect anyone below 18 years

Q9. Per Seroczynski, Jacquez & Cole, among the behavioural risk factors for adolescent suicide, the SINGLE strongest indicator that a young person may attempt suicide in future is

• A. occasional sadness on losing a school cricket match
• B. a previous attempt at suicide by the same young person
• C. scoring below class average in one subject
• D. having more than two close friends in the same class

Q10. A NIMHANS (Bengaluru) finding on adolescent and youth suicidal behaviour in India. According to the cited finding, the proportion of college students who had attempted suicide and the proportion of school students who had attempted suicide were respectively

• A. 1 per cent and 0.5 per cent
• B. 50 per cent and 40 per cent
• C. 11 per cent and 7-8 per cent
• D. 90 per cent and 80 per cent

Q11. A class 8 teacher in an upper-primary school finds that two students show early signs of depression. Which of the following classroom practices should the teacher AVOID?

• A. Treating every student with dignity and refraining from public humiliation
• B. Comparing each student's marks with the class topper at every assembly
• C. Involving the school counsellor and discussing concerns with parents
• D. Watching for social withdrawal, frequent crying and aggression

Q12. Consider the following statements about juvenile delinquency: Statement I: Parental alcoholism, broken families and poverty are well-recognised risk factors for juvenile delinquency. Statement II: Therefore, children of well-to-do, urban, educated families are essentially immune to delinquency. Choose the correct option

• A. Both Statement I and Statement II are correct
• B. Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect
• C. Statement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct
• D. Both Statement I and Statement II are incorrect

Q13. The Riyadh Guidelines (1990) recommend that schools play a preventive role against juvenile delinquency PRIMARILY by

• A. expelling any student with one disciplinary incident
• B. introducing harsher corporal punishment than the home
• C. using education to promote respect for the child's cultural identity, values and the rights of others, alongside vocational guidance
• D. limiting children's education to religious instruction only

Q14. Li et al. (2011) to argue that ONE specific protective factor in upper-primary schools lowers later substance use and delinquency. The factor is

• A. frequent surprise tests in every subject
• B. uniform rules with no co-curricular activities
• C. more screen time during recess
• D. active school engagement — children feeling they belong and participate meaningfully in school

Q15. A principal of a rural Bihar upper-primary school (ages 11-14) wants ONE umbrella strategy that will simultaneously protect adolescents against bullying, substance use, depression, delinquency AND compulsive internet use. The strategy that fits most closely is

• A. ranking children publicly every week to keep them disciplined
• B. nurturing self-esteem, self-confidence and critical-thinking life skills, with parent and community partnership
• C. removing all sports and arts from the school timetable to focus on theory
• D. ignoring early symptoms and waiting for police or parents to act