Prevalence and influencing factors of behavioral problems among adolescents aged 12-16 years in Guizhou Province / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To explore the current status related to behavioral problems among children and adolescents aged 12-16 years old in Guizhou Province, China, and to provide a reference for timely prevention and intervention measures.@*Methods@#To capture different economic development levels, a multistage stratified cluster sampling method was used. A total of 3 217 children and adolescents aged 12-16 years old from six middle schools and six primary schools in Guiyang, Duyun, Kaili City from Guizhou Province participated in this study. The Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and a self designed questionnaire were administered between August and December 2021.@*Results@#The overall detection rate of behavioral problems among the students was 16.60% , and the rate was 14.41% and 18.62% among male and female students, respectively. The results of the Logistic regression analysis showed that good peer relationships ( OR=0.25, 0.16, P <0.05) were associated with a lower risk of behavioral problems in children and adolescents. However, the following factors were associated with an elevated risk of behavioral problems: nonparents as the main caregivers( OR = 1.44 ); children s daily screen time was 1-2 h ( OR =1.47) or more than 2 h( OR =2.75); children who had no sports hobbies( OR = 1.36); father parenting for doting or neglect( OR =1.85, 2.01); maternal parenting for doting( OR = 2.12 ); father had bad life habits( OR =1.69); father and mother were occasionally sick( OR =1.30, 1.38)( P <0.05).@*Conclusion@#Behavioral problems among children and adolescents in Guizhou Province is related to children s unhealthy living habits and various factors in the family environment. It is suggested that families, schools and relevant functional departments give full play to their own advantages and take comprehensive measures to prevent the occurrence of behavioral problems among children and adolescents.