Association of Family Structure and its Environment with Aggressive Behaviour of Children (6-8years) in a Rural Community

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the association of family structure and family environment with aggressive behavior of children (6-8years) in a rural community of Gadap town, Karachi, Pakistan Subjects and Methods: This is a questionnaire based cross sectional survey to determine the association of family structure and environment with aggressive behavior of children (6-8years). Aggressive behaviour is defined as sudden, explosive outbursts of anger and has been reported as a clinical problem in approximately 23% -40% of children in some communities. The information was collected by interviewing parents regarding their family structure, family environment and aggressive behavior of children in school and at home. This quantitative assessment was made on a validated Performa. The data was analyzed on SPSS windows version 16. Results: Total numbers of respondents were 384. The impact of aggressive behavior in children were anger 32.8%, violence 36.5%, lack of tolerance for minor disputes 32.3%, respectively. The reliability statistics table had the actual value for Cronbach’s alpha at 89.1%. The association of aggressive behavior in children has been rooted in the family size in 34.4%, family type 27.6%, family environment 23.7% and intimate partner violence in 30.2%. Conclusion: One third of school children had aggressive behaviour directly related to family size and family environment in a rural area. The significant major risk factors were age, family size 34.4%, family type 27.6%, family environment 23.7% and intimate partner violence in 30.2%.