PRESENCE OF RISK FACTORS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AND THE NEED FOR EARLY SOCIAL-PEDAGOGICAL INTERVENTION

The school is an institution that represents an important link in the social care chain for children and young people, which also involves taking various measures to prevent the occurrence of undesirable behaviors. The aim of the study is to determine the prevalence of risk factors between adolescents with externalized and internalized problems and typically developing adolescents, and to determine in which segment, in the opinion of teachers, early social-pedagogical intervention is most needed. The research sample is made up of 450 students (233 male and 217 female) of the seventh and eighth grades of primary school. The results show that the highest risk factors are present in the group of students with externalized behavioral problems, slightly less in the group with internalized problems, and the least in students without behavioral and emotional problems. When it comes to early social-pedagogical interventions, in the opinion of teachers, they should be comprehensive and implemented by a competent expert.