Socio-Economic and School Factors of Psychological and Physical Health in Siberian Schoolchildren

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cultural influences on psychological and physical health were examined in a sample of Russian schoolchildren in Novosibirsk. To evaluate the children’s behaviour the translated short form of the Child Behaviour Checklist was given out to mothers. A School Adjustment Scale and the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire were completed by teachers and one total score was derived from the Rutter Health Questionnaire for children. Children from disturbed families had worse school adjustment and more behavioural problems. Acute respiratory diseases were more frequent in children from large families, while the mother’s education level was a protective factor. Academic attainment was positively related to parents’ education, CBCL Somatic Complaints and the occurrence of psychosomatic and inflammatory diseases, and negatively related to Externalising Problems. The CBCL Somatic complaints score was the key variable in the prediction of most physical health variables. Overall, the findings show the significance of academic attainment for a child’s physical and psychological health. Low academic attainment tends to be connected with Externalising Problems, while higher attainment could be connected with somatisation and physical illness. (Int J Circumpolar Health 2001; 60:268-274)