Behavioral and Emotional Problems among Adolescent Students

Background & Objective(s): Emotional and behavioral problems among adolescents represent a considerable public health problem in developing countries. These problems are considered a source of stress for adolescents as well as their families, schools and community. Emotional health and well-being of young people have implications on their self-esteem, behavior, school attendance, educational achievement, social cohesion and future health and life chances. To estimate the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems and to determine the association between these problems and socio-demographic variables among adolescent students in Assiut district. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in randomly selected secondary schools (2 urban and 2 rural) in Assiut district, and 400 students were included in the study. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect study data which included: personal data, socioeconomic status scale and self-reported version of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) (Arabic version) which included 25 items divided into 5 subscales (conduct problems, hyperactivity, emotional symptoms, peer problems and prosocial behavior) Results: About 45 % of adolescents were identified with emotional and/or behavioral problems using the SDQ. These problems included conduct, emotional, peer problems, prosocial and hyperactivity difficulties (36.0%, 42.3%, 5.0%, 28.5% and 24.8% respectively). Emotional difficulties were significantly higher (p value= 0.02) among females (40.4%), while conduct difficulties were more prevalent among males (47.5%). The majority of students with emotional/ behavioral problems (90%) reported high negative impact of such problems that was significantly associated with female sex, rural residents, students of low socioeconomic level and whose mothers were housewives. Conclusion: Screening secondary school adolescents in Assiut district revealed high prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems that was associated with perceived enormous negative impact. Further studies and intervention programs are greatly needed to address adolescent mental health needs.