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Behavioural and emotional problems among school children in Pakistan: A telephonic survey for prevalence and risk factors
Author(s) -
Malik Tamkeen A,
Siddiqui Salma,
Mahmood Ayeshah
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/jpc.14429
Subject(s) - mental health , medicine , context (archaeology) , public health , strengths and difficulties questionnaire , psychiatry , environmental health , clinical psychology , nursing , paleontology , biology
Aim Escalating rates of childhood mental health disorders constitute a serious issue for countries like Pakistan. However, due to a scarce number of studies on childhood behavioural problems, understanding the magnitude and gap of the problem is a challenge. Thus, the present study is intended to bridge this gap. This study provides estimates for prevalence, associated demographic risk factors and the impact of behavioural and emotional problems among school children. Methods A sample of children ( n = 800) from public schools of Islamabad were selected using two‐stage cluster random sampling. Data were collected from parents through telephonic interviews using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results Prevalence of overall behaviour problems accounted for 15.9%. For conduct problems, estimates were around 26.6%, for emotional problems 22.5%, for peer problems 13%, for hyperactivity 10.6% and for social problems 3% in the initial analysis. Mother's education also appeared to be a significant predictor for mental health problems of youth, where low maternal education was associated with high prevalence and higher impact of emotional and behavioural problems in the present sample. Conclusions Prevalence estimates of the current study call for attention towards improving mental health services and access to children who are at risk or are having mental health problems. In the context of scarcity of the data from countries like Pakistan, the findings should be considered a call for mental health service providers, researchers and policymakers to scale up mental health services for youth in Pakistan.