Predictor factors affecting emotional and behavioral problems in school-aged (6-12 years) children during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: The prolonged outbreak of COVID-19 has caused psychological problems in the community, especially in children. Given that limited studies have been conducted on this vulnerable group in Iran, we conducted this study to determine the predictor factors affecting emotional and behavioral problems in school-aged (6-12 years) children during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study on 322 mothers of elementary school-aged children (6-12 years) from April 21 to June 21, 2021, in Karaj, Alborz, Iran. Sociodemographic checklist, socioeconomic status scale (SES), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS), and the Rutter Children's Behavior Questionnaire (RCBQ) were used to evaluate the children's behavioral symptoms, the mental health of their mothers, and sociodemographic factors. RESULTS: In total, 17.7% of children (male = 27.0%, female = 11.7%) had behavioral problems. Results showed income (p-value = 0.007, 95%CI (-3.85- -0.607)), and physical activity of the child (p-value = 0.026, 95%CI (-1.03- -0.067)), were indirectly associated with children's behavioral symptoms. Having underlying disease (p-value = 0.00, 95%CI (1.712-5.949)), breastfeeding (p-value = 0.027, 95%CI (0.335-5.61)), corona-related anxiety (p-value = 0.00, 95%CI (0.158-0.318)), and DASS score (p-value = 0.00, 95%CI (0.149-0.334)) in the mothers, as well as male gender (p-value = 0.003, 95%CI (0.724-3.471)) were directly associated with children's behavioral symptoms. The most factors involved in the behavioral symptom score of children were corona-related anxiety (ß = .298), DASS (ß = 0.273), underlying disease of mothers (ß = 0.163), income (ß = -0.154), child's gender (ß = 0.142) and physical activity (ß = -0.101), and breastfeeding (ß = 0.099) respectively. CONCLUSION: Study findings showed that some factors affect the emotional and behavioral problems of school-aged (6-12 years) children during the COVID-19 pandemic. These data may help future researchers and policymakers with early intervention.

Factors affecting mental health and happiness in the elderly: A structural equation model by gender differences.

PURPOSE: There are few studies on the gender differences in mental health, happiness, and their related factors among the older population through the structural equation model (SEM) in Iran. We conducted this study to evaluate the factors affecting mental health and happiness in the elderly using an SEM by gender differences. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 739 elderly people in 2019 in Karaj, Iran. Sociodemographic, Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL90-R), and the Oxford Happiness Inventory were applied to evaluate the relationships between happiness, mental health, and sociodemographic factors by using statistical path analysis with Lisrel 8.8 and SPSS-17. RESULTS: Overall, 55.5% of the participants in the study were female. The SCL90 (p value = .000) and happiness (p value = .000) scores showed significant differences between men and women. Fit indices confirmed the high model fitness, desirability, and logical relationships between the variables according to the conceptual model in both men (X2 = 3.2, df = 1) and women (X2 = 5.4, df = 2) groups. According to the path analysis, among the variables that affected happiness just through the direct path, education had the most positive causal relationship in men (B = .13) and women (B = .16), but mental health problems in men (B = -.33) and women (B = -.26), as well as the distance from home to the healthcare center in men (B = -.13) and women (B = -.11), had the most negative causal relationship with happiness respectively. Age was the only variable that was negatively related to happiness through direct and indirect paths in the women (B = -.188). CONCLUSION: We provided an empirical model that illustrates the relationships between happiness, mental health, and related factors in the older population. Gender differences in path analysis showed that age negatively affects the happiness of older women but not men.