PREVALENCE OF EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL PROBLEMS AMONG ADOLESCENTS IN PAKISTAN: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence and severity of emotional and behavioral problems among adolescents. STUDY DESIGN Cross Sectional study PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY The study was conducted at private sector secondary schools of Karachi, from August, 2021- February, 2022. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Sample comprised o 1470 students between the age 11 to 17 years from different private sector secondary schools of Karachi.. The sample was collected through purposive sampling technique. Socio demographic Information Form, Asian Adolescents Depression Scale (AADS) and School Children Problem Scale (SCPS) were used. SPSS 26 was used to analyze the data. RESULTS The mean age of study respondents was 13.62 years (SD 1.39). Findings of present study reveal that emotional and behavioral problems were more common among female adolescents as compared to their male counterparts. Overall all 20% of study respondents were found to have very severe level of emotional and behavioral problems, and aggression was the most common problem among 14% of adolescents, followed by academic problems in 9.7% of adolescents. About 20% of the school going adolescents struggling with emotional and behavioral problems (i.e., anxiousness, aggression, social withdrawal, rejection, somatic problems, & depression), and academic problems. Further, there found to have statistically significant association between gender and emotional and behavioral problems. Mental health experts should focus on prevention and treatment interventions in school settings to reduce the risk of emotional and behavioral problems of Pakistani adolescents so that they could grow socially and emotionally healthy and excel in their academics and contribute to their family and community.