scholarly journals Parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of emotional and behavioural problems of school-going adolescents

Author(s):  
U. Harikrishnan ◽  
Grace Lalhlupuii Sailo

Abstract Self-reported studies alone cannot be used to deduce the significance of adolescent problems. Therefore, the current study focuses on parents’ and class teachers’ perspectives of school-going adolescents’ emotional and behavioural problems. The objectives are to apprehend the prevalence of adolescent problems, comparisons on gender, school-area; and its association with socio-demographic details. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 19 schools from government-private and rural-urban schools across Kollam District, Kerala. Malayalam/English version of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was administered among a sample of 600 parents and 60 class teachers of school-going adolescents. Gender correlation with parents’ report found emotional problems (P<0.01), conduct problems (P<0.01), hyperactivity (P<0.001), peer problems (P<0.001) whereas in teachers’ report found relationship with emotional problems (P<0.05) and hyperactivity (P<0.001). Multivariate test results reveal that there is a statistically significant difference in emotional and behavioural problems of school-going adolescents based on school area (government-urban, government-rural, private-urban and private-rural). Multiple linear regression analysis on parents reports is significantly predicted with gender (P<0.01), urban-rural settings (P<0.001) and socioeconomic status (P<0.01). Teachers’ report has significantly been predicted with urban-rural settings (P<0.01) and socioeconomic status (P<0.001). Parents’ reports revealed a less overall prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems than teachers’ reports. Female adolescents tend to have more emotional problems and males were found to be more hyperactive. A significant difference was found with the school-area settings and significant association with socio-demographic details of adolescents. More attention is needed for the protection of adolescents’ mental health and fills mental health gaps in services.

Author(s):  
Tagharid T. Al Said ◽  
Ian S. Hamilton ◽  
Nicola Birdsey

This study aimed to identify the prevalence of behavioral and emotional problems in children in Oman and demographic variables correlated with these. A random sample of 200 pupils from grades 1-4 in the Governorate of Muscat was selected using the OMBEP measure (Al Said, Birdsey, & Stuart-Hamilton, 2012). Multiple linear regression analysis showed three variables are able to predict emotional and behavioural problems including: the educational level of the father (only when it is below bachelor's degree), the number of hours spent watching T.V., and grade 3 (children in grade 3 are more likely to experience the negative effects of emotional and behavioural problems as compared with children in other grades). However, there are variables that have a positive role in reduction of behavioural and emotional problems. These are: the mother's educational level when it is a bachelor's degree, the existence of a nursemaid, and the effect of having first grade education. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 406-417
Author(s):  
Divya Kanchibhotla ◽  
Saumya Subramanian ◽  
Bharti Kaushik

Background: Mental health problems are increasing at an alarming rate throughout the world, and teenagers are no exception. They experience high levels of stress in their formative years which often leads to poor social behavior. In the present study, we examine the effect of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY), a yogic breathing technique on perceived stress and social behavior of school going teenagers. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted. Teenagers who practiced SKY daily constituted the study group and teenagers who did not practice any form of yoga or meditation formed the control group. Child Perceived Stress scale (C-PSS) and Strength and Difficulty questionnaire (SDQ) were used to evaluate the mental health and social behavior of both groups. Results: Lower stress scores were observed among students who practiced SKY compared to their peers. A significant difference was observed between the groups with respect to emotional problems, conduct problems, peer problems, and pro-social behavior. Gender wise comparison highlighted that the females from the SKY group scored lower on emotional problems sub-scale compared to their counterparts from control group. Results also highlighted an improved peer to peer interaction among both boys and girls in the SKY group. Conclusion: The results indicate the practice of SKY is associated with reduced stress, improved self-awareness, and social behavior.


2020 ◽  
pp. 089011712096865
Author(s):  
Rubayyat Hashmi ◽  
Khorshed Alam ◽  
Jeff Gow ◽  
Sonja March

Purpose: To present the prevalence of 3 broad categories of mental disorder (anxiety-related, affective and other disorders) by socioeconomic status and examine the associated socioeconomic risk factors of mental disorders in Australia. Design: A population-based, cross-sectional national health survey on mental health and its risk factors across Australia. Setting: National Health Survey (NHS), 2017-2018 conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Participants: Under aged: 4,945 persons, Adult: 16,370 persons and total: 21,315 persons Measures: Patient-reported mental disorder outcomes Analysis: Weighted prevalence rates by socioeconomic status (equivalised household income, education qualifications, Socio-Economic Index for Areas (SEIFA) scores, labor force status and industry sector where the adult respondent had their main job) were estimated using cross-tabulation. Logistic regression utilizing subsamples of underage and adult age groups were analyzed to test the association between socioeconomic status and mental disorders. Results: Anxiety-related disorders were the most common type of disorders with a weighted prevalence rate of 20.04% (95% CI: 18.49-21.69) for the poorest, 13.85% (95% CI: 12.48-15.35) for the richest and 16.34% (95% CI: 15.7-17) overall. The weighted prevalence rate for mood/affective disorders were 20.19% (95% CI: 18.63-21.84) for the poorest, 9.96% (95% CI: 8.79-11.27) for the richest, and 13.57% (95% CI: 12.99-14.17) overall. Other mental disorders prevalence were for the poorest: 9.07% (95% CI: 7.91-10.39), the richest: 3.83% (95% CI: 3.14-4.66), and overall: 5.93% (95% CI: 5.53-6.36). These patterns are also reflected if all mental disorders were aggregated with the poorest: 30.97% (95% CI: 29.15-32.86), the richest: 19.59% (95% CI: 18.02-21.26), and overall: 23.93% (95% CI: 23.19-24.69). The underage logistic regression model showed significant lower odds for the middle (AOR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.53 -1.04, p < 0.1), rich (AOR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.5-0.99, p < 0.05) and richest (AOR: 0.6, 95% CI: 0.41-0.89, p < 0.01) income groups. Similarly, in the adult logistic model, there were significant lower odds for middle (AOR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.72-0.98, p < 0.05), rich (AOR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.62-0.86, p < 0.01) and richest (AOR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.63-0.91, p < 0.01) income groups. Conclusion: The prevalence of mental disorders in Australia varied significantly across socioeconomic groups. Knowledge of different mental health needs in different socioeconomic groups can assist in framing evidence-based health promotion and improve the targeting of health resource allocation strategies.


Urban Studies ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 1619-1637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilla Baba ◽  
Ade Kearns ◽  
Emma McIntosh ◽  
Carol Tannahill ◽  
James Lewsey

Urban regeneration (UR) programmes are recognised as a type of Population Health Intervention (PHI), addressing social and health inequalities. Policy recommends programmes involve communities through engagement and empowerment. Whilst the literature has started to link empowerment with health improvement, this has not been within an UR context. As part of broader research on the economic evaluation of community empowerment activities, this paper examines how health gains can be generated through promoting empowerment as well as identifying whether feelings of empowerment are associated with residents personal characteristics or perceptions of their neighbourhood. Using 2011 Community Health and Wellbeing Survey (GoWell) cross-sectional data, ordinal logistic regression and simple linear regression analysis of 15 Glasgow neighbourhoods undergoing regeneration with 4302 adult householders (≥16 years old) was completed. Analyses identified strong associations ( P≥ 0.05) between empowerment and the mental health subscale of the SF12v2 and with several items of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) scale. Furthermore, residents’ who felt more empowered reported more positive attitudes towards their surroundings and housing providers. This concurs with recent evidence of the importance of residents’ psychological investments in their neighbourhood influencing their sense of place attachment. Such analyses present initial evidence of the value of investing resources within UR programmes to activities geared towards increasing residents’ empowerment as a means of producing those health gains often sought by more costly aspects of the programmes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (12) ◽  
pp. 832-840
Author(s):  
Katti Sathaporn ◽  
Jarurin Pitanupong

Objective: To determine the level of and factors associated with empathy among medical students.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study surveyed all first- to sixth-year medical students at the Facultyof Medicines, Prince of Songkla University, at the end of the 2020 academic year. The questionnaires consisted of:1) The personal and demographic information questionnaire, 2) The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire, and 3) ThaiMental Health Indicator-15. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and factors associated with empathylevel were assessed via chi-square and logistic regression analyses.Results: There were 1010 participants with response rate of 94%. Most of them were female (59%). More than half(54.9%) reported a high level of empathy. There was a statistically significant difference in empathy levels betweenpre-clinical and clinical medical students; in regards to empathy subgroups (P-value < 0.001). The assessment ofemotional states in others by demonstrating appropriate sensitivity behavior, altruism, and empathic respondingscores among the pre-clinical group were higher than those of the clinical group. Multivariate analysis indicatedthat female gender, pre-clinical training level, and minor specialty preference were factors associated with empathylevel. The protective factor that significantly improved the level of empathy was having fair to good mental health.Conclusion: More than half of the surveyed medical students reported a high level of empathy. The protective factorthat improved the level of empathy was good mental health. However, future qualitative methods, longitudinalsurveillance, or long-term follow-up designs are required to ensure the trustworthiness of these findings.


Autism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136236132110461
Author(s):  
Matthew J Hollocks ◽  
Tony Charman ◽  
Gillian Baird ◽  
Catherine Lord ◽  
Andrew Pickles ◽  
...  

Autistic young people experience high levels of co-occurring mental health difficulties, including anxiety, depression and behavioural difficulties, across their lifespan. Understanding the neuropsychological mechanisms which underlie these difficulties is vital in developing personalised supports and interventions. Cognitive inflexibility is one candidate mechanism which is associated with co-occurring mental health comorbidities but is also associated with other features of autism such as restricted and repetitive behaviours. This study investigates the distinct longitudinal association between cognitive inflexibility, measured using objective neuropsychological measures and emotional and behavioural problems across adolescence and early adulthood. Eighty-one autistic people from a population-based longitudinal study were assessed at 16 and 23 years on measures of emotional and behavioural problems, with cognitive inflexibility, restricted and repetitive behaviours and verbal intelligence quotient measured at 16 years. We used structural equation modelling to investigate the relationship between cognitive inflexibility and emotional and behavioural symptoms at both timepoints while accounting for the severity of restricted and repetitive behaviours and verbal intelligence quotient. Our results indicate an effect of cognitive inflexibility on increased behavioural problems at 16 years and emotional problems across timepoints, which is distinct from restricted and repetitive behaviours and verbal intelligence quotient. Exploratory mediation analyses suggest that cognitive inflexibility may be one mechanism through which emotional difficulties are maintained longitudinally. Lay abstract Autistic people experience high levels of co-occurring mental health difficulties. To develop more effective treatments, a greater understanding of the thinking processes that may lead to these difficulties is needed. Cognitive inflexibility, defined as a rigid pattern of thoughts and subsequently behaviours, is one possible thinking trait which has previously been associated with both co-occurring mental health difficulties but also other features of autism such as restricted and repetitive behaviours. Restricted and repetitive behaviours include repetitive movements, ritualistic behaviours, and/or highly focused interests. This study investigates the relationship between, cognitive inflexibility, measured using neuropsychological tasks, and emotional and behavioural problems across adolescence and early adulthood. Eighty-one autistic people who were recruited to be representative of the wider autism population were assessed at 16 and 23 years on measures of emotional and behavioural problems, with cognitive inflexibility, restricted and repetitive behaviours and verbal intelligence measured at 16 years. We used statistical modelling to investigate the relationship between cognitive inflexibility and emotional and behavioural symptoms at both timepoints while accounting for the possible relationship with restricted and repetitive behaviours and verbal intelligence quotient. Our results suggest that cognitive inflexibility may be an important factor associated with emotional difficulties across adolescence and early adulthood. This suggests that developing intervention approaches targeting cognitive inflexibility may be an important step in improving the mental health of those with autism.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawson Church ◽  
Peta Stapleton ◽  
Debbie Sabot

BACKGROUND The burgeoning area of mobile health (mHealth) has experienced rapid growth in mobile apps designed to address mental health issues. Although abundant apps offer strategies for managing symptoms of anxiety and stress, information regarding their efficacy is scarce. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to assess the effect of an mHealth app on user self-ratings of psychological distress in a sample of 270,461 app users. The Tapping Solution App guides users through the therapeutic protocols of Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), an evidence-based psychophysiological intervention that combines acupressure with elements of cognitive and exposure therapies. METHODS App users provided self-ratings of emotional intensity before and after app sessions (termed “tapping meditations”) using an 11-point Subjective Units of Distress scale. App user data for 23 tapping meditations, which addressed psychological symptoms of anxiety and stress, were gathered between October 2018 and October 2019, totaling 380,034 completed app sessions. RESULTS Across 12 anxiety-tapping meditations, the difference in emotional intensity ratings from presession (mean 6.66, SD 0.25) to postsession (mean 3.75, SD 0.30) was statistically significant (<i>P</i>&lt;.001; 95% CI −2.92 to −2.91). Across 11 stress-tapping meditations, a statistically significant difference was also found from presession (mean 6.91, SD 0.48) to postsession (mean 3.83, SD 0.54; <i>P</i>&lt;.001; 95% CI −3.08 to −3.07). The results are consistent with the literature on the efficacy of Clinical EFT for anxiety and stress when offered in conventional therapeutic formats. CONCLUSIONS The findings provide preliminary support for the effectiveness of the mHealth app in the immediate reduction of self-rated psychological distress. As an adjunct to professional mental health care, the app promises accessible and convenient therapeutic benefits.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (28) ◽  
pp. 2472-2477
Author(s):  
Swapnil Agrawal ◽  
Aftab Ahmed Khan

BACKGROUND With recent advancement in health facility, both in urban and rural population, ratio of elderly people has increased and due to this apart from physical illness, mental health is also emerged as an important public health challenge. Psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, cognitive disorders and substance use disorders were commonly found in elderly specially living alone and in care homes. The primary purpose of this study was to compare mental health of elderly people living in care homes with those living with family in Kota (Hadoti region, Rajasthan). METHODS This is a cross-sectional comparative study that was carried out in 50 elderly people living in care homes and 50 elderly people living with family. Both groups were screened for psychiatric disorders using general health questionnaire (GHQ – 12). Comparison was made under various headings between these groups including severity. Obtained data were analysed by using proportion, mean, standard deviation, chi-square, and Pearson correlation. RESULTS No statistically significant difference was found in having psychiatric disorders on screening with GHQ - 12. Difference in these groups for prevalence and severity was not statistically significant for depression and anxiety although significant higher mean of total geriatric depression score (GDS) score in control (10.74 ± 2.56) than in cases (9.38 ± 2.36) and total Hamilton’s anxiety rating scale (HAM – A) score was seen in case group (24.53 ± 3.50) than in controls (23.15 ± 2.34). CONCLUSIONS In this study, it was found out that psychiatry morbidity was higher among elderly population living in old age home when compared to elders living with family in community. Possible reason for higher psychiatric morbidity in old age home group in our study appears to be because of lack of family support, pain of being separated from their children whom they cared and nurtured for their whole life. In psychiatric morbidity we found that depression was the most common disorder in elderly population in both groups. KEYWORDS Old Age Home, Mental Disorders, Depression, Anxiety


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 3209-3218
Author(s):  
Jinhua Liu ◽  
Hongsheng Chen ◽  
Yang Chen ◽  
Zhigang Li

Objective This study investigated the effect of the number of close friends (within and outside of social housing neighbourhoods) on the emotional well-being of men and women in social housing neighbourhoods in China. Methods Data (n = 535) were collected in 13 social housing neighbourhoods in Guangzhou from September to December 2013 using the random sample method. The t-test, chi-square test, and linear regression analysis were used to analyse the factors influencing residents’ emotional well-being. Results Having a greater number of close friends living within the social housing neighbourhood had a significantly positive association with the respondents’ emotional well-being (regression coefficient = 0.473). The number of close friends living in nearby neighbourhoods was only positively related to women’s emotional well-being (coefficient = 0.433). Conclusions These results highlight the importance of friendship for residents’ emotional well-being. Especially for women, friendship outside the social housing neighbourhood is essential for good mental health. This conclusion is based on analysis of cross-sectional data, and reflects the directionality of social associations. The mental health of the poor warrants greater attention in China.


Author(s):  
E. Tanaka ◽  
H. Iso ◽  
A. Tsutsumi ◽  
S. Kameoka ◽  
Y. You ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims We explored the factors promoting long-term mental health among adolescent survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China. We examined the associations of their long-term mental health with disaster-related storytelling and school-based psychoeducation, and of school-based psychoeducation with disaster-related storytelling. Methods A secondary school-based cross-sectional survey was conducted 6 years after the disaster. Participants with traumatic experiences such as injury, loss, witnessing someone's death/injury and home destruction (N = 1028, mean age 15, standard deviation 1.38, male 51%) were eligible. Mental health/disaster education (MHE/DE) was defined as taking one or more lessons in MHE and/or DE at school since the earthquake. Experiences of storytelling about the disaster involved expressing distressing memories and feelings regarding the earthquake since the disaster happened, according to four groups: never expressed distressing memories and feelings, expressed them through writing/drawing, expressed them through talking to lay supporters and expressed them through talking to health professionals. Analysis of covariance was used to compare mean scores on five selected subscales of the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) and the Psychotic-Like Experiences (PLEs) scale among the four storytelling groups. Linear regression analysis was used to identify the relationships between MHE/DE and current mental health as measured by the SCL-90, AIS and PLEs. The relationship between education and storytelling was probed by χ2 test. Results The talked-to-lay-supporters group showed better mental health on the SCL-90 (p ⩽ 0.001), AIS (p < 0.001) and PLEs (p = 0.004), while the consulted-health-professionals group showed worse mental health on the three dimensions of the SCL-90: depression (p = 0.05), anxiety (p = 0.02) and fear (p = 0.04), and on PLEs (p = 0.02) compared with the never-expressed group. MHE and DE were inversely associated with SCL-90, AIS and PLE scores. Participants who received these forms of education talked about their disaster experiences to lay supporters more than those who did not. Conclusions MHE and DE at school may promote adolescents’ mental health after a disaster. Experience of storytelling about the disaster to lay supporters may be helpful for long-term psychological recovery, and may be a potential mediating factor for school-based education and better mental health. Because of the cross-sectional nature of this study, causality cannot be inferred; therefore, further prospective intervention studies are needed to elucidate the effect of these factors on adolescent survivors’ mental health.


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