Population Of Schoolchildren Research Articles

Prevalence and determinants of internet addiction among children with depression: A study in a school setting in Tunisia

IntroductionChild depression is a public health problem. Its association with internet addiction (IA) could increase the frequency of complications and have a significant impact on the child’s psychological well-being, schooling, family and social life.Objectives To study the clinical profile and associated factors of IA in a population of primary school children with depressive disorders.Methods This was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study of 182 children with depression attending four primary schools in the government of Sfax. The study took place from 1 March 2022 to 30 June 2022. In the present study, we administered the following psychometric scales: Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS- 47), Birleson Depression Scale Questionnaire and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.ResultsThe mean age of the children studied was 9.9 ±1.17 years and the sex ratio was 0.8. Mean score of Internet Addiction Test was 40 ±4,46. In addition, Internet addiction was identified in 73.6% of students with depression (N=143). Following a univariate analysis, internet addiction among depressed Childrens was positively correlated to individual factors such as the absence of leisure activity, the number of hours per day spent on the internet (1.63 VS 3.25, P < 0.001) and interest in accessing Tiktok (p=0.002). Internet addiction in depressed children also depended on family factors. Internet addiction was more common among childrens with a medium to high family socio-economic level (P < 0.001) in cases where parent-child communication was deemed unsatisfactory (P = 0.002) and in cases of verbal violence (P < 0.001). We were also able to establish a significant link between internet addiction among depressed pupils and significant symptoms of anxiety (P=0.019) and low self-esteem (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis using binary logistic regression revealed that medium to high socio-economic level, unsatisfactory parent-child communication, absence of leisure activities and significant symptoms of social phobia were independent predictors of Internet addiction in children with depression.ConclusionsOur study highlighted the high frequency of IA in children with depression and demonstrated the implication of certain variables such as medium to high socio-economic status, disruption of the family environment, anxiety and low self-esteem. The identification of these different factors would make it possible to identify a group at risk of IA. This raises the case for introducing prevention and awareness-raising campaigns on IA among depressed children, targeting these groups and targeting health professionals and parents.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Age Structured Deterministic Model of Diphtheria Infection

Age-structured mathematical model of diphtheria infection has been formulated with specific epidemiological classes such as S1, susceptible infant at time t (0-1years), S2, susceptible school children population at time t, V, vaccination population at time t, E, exposed population at time t, I1, asymptomatic infection population at time t, I2, symptomatic infection population at time t, ID, detected infectious humans at time t (asymptomatic and symptomatic) population through testing, R, recovered population at time t. It was established through theorems and proofs that the model is epidemiologically meaningful, and that all its state variables are positive (non-negative) at time t>0 in the domain ℘, and that the domain ℘ is indeed bounded. Using the next generation matrix, the reproduction ratio Rb of the system was determined. Using dynamical system theory, it was established that the system is locally stable. A matrix-theoretic method was used in the construction of an appropriate Lyapunov function for the global stability analysis of the formulated model, and also established that the system is globally asymptotically stable if Rb≤1 and unstable otherwise.

The Comparison of Visual Acuity between Spectacles and Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) Group in Myopia Patients

Introduction & Objectives : The prevalence of myopia has approximately doubled in the past three decades, with rates of 70–87% among populations of school children and young adults in Asia. Approaches to treating myopia include spectacles and Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) contact lenses. RGP has become a new "preference" because it is more comfortable and provides a more aesthetic look. This study aims to determine which method is better for correcting visual acuity in myopia patients.
 Methods : This cross-sectional study analyzed the outcomes and exposures measured at the same time. The sample included myopia patients (based on spherical equivalent) who underwent RGP contact lens fitting in the refraction outpatient clinic of M Djamil Hospital from January 2021 to December 2022. The samples were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The collected data included gender, age, and best-corrected visual acuity using spectacles and RGP.
 Results : Forty-three patients were eligible as the sample in this study. Most of the subjects were women (62.8%), and the mean age was 23.58 years old. The median LogMAR for the RGP group was lower than the spectacles group (0.00:0.10 on both eyes). Statistical analyses found a significant visual acuity improvement in the RGP group compared to the spectacles group in both the right and left eyes (p = 0.014 and p = 0.005, respectively (p < 0.05)).
 Conclusion : The use of RGP provides significantly better visual acuity in correcting myopia than spectacles. Myopia is more frequently found in young women.

CORRELATION OF BODY MASS INDEX WITH MENARCHE AGE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN KRIAN

Introduction: Early menarche is increasing throughout the world, including in Indonesia. The average age of early menarche in Indonesia is less than 10 years based on the results of Riset Kesehatan Dasar or Basic Health Research 2013. Early menarche can cause stress, cardiovascular disease, and the risk of breast cancer. Early menarche can be influenced by various factors, one of which is nutritional status which can be assessed by body mass index.Objective: To determine the relationship between Body Mass Index and Menarche Age in elementary school “X” in Krian.Method: This study used a cross-sectional research design, conducted on a population of elementary school children in grades IV-VI aged 9-12 years at primary school “X” in Krian with the inclusion criteria being School Health Unit (Unit Kesehatan Sekolah or UKS) data and the exclusion criteria being having chronic diseases. Data analysis was carried out using the Spearman Correlation test.Results: 49 samples were obtained consisting of 7 people in class IV, 14 people in class V, and 28 people in class VI. From the sample, 8 children had a low BMI (16.3%), 30 children had a normal BMI (61.3%), and 11 children had a high BMI (22.5%). Meanwhile, for early menarche 6 people (12.2%), normal menarche 43 people (87.8%), and no late menarche (0%) obtained a p-value = 0.616 (p>0.05). The percentage of early menarche in obese BMIs is higher than in other BMIs with a percentage of 6.1%.Conclusion: There is no significant correlation between body mass index and age at menarche due to the small number of samples.

Body Mass Index Trends before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Primary School Students in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia: A Retrospective Study.

Within the last decade, childhood obesity has become a serious problem, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research paper aimed to examine whether body mass index (BMI) was higher during the pandemic (2020-2022) than in the pre-pandemic period (2012/2013-2019) using trends related to sex, urban-rural area, and physical activity (PA). This study included data from physical examinations of an entire population of primary school children from Split-Dalmatia County (Croatia) over a period of 10 years. There were 103,804 students from the first, fifth, and eighth grades who participated in the analysis. During the pandemic, the BMI of all the students increased, except for eighth-grade girls. Generations of eighth graders have had significantly different BMIs throughout the past decade. We found that first graders were overweight and obese in urban areas, while in rural areas, this problem was experienced by upper grades. Girls were more overweight and obese in the first and eighth grades, but boys experienced this more in the fifth grade. Reduced PA influenced an increase in BMI in both sexes, especially in girls. During the pandemic, this situation became worse. This study could be useful to experts for the creation of new policies for Split-Dalmatia County and surrounding regions that are similar economically and culturally.

Relationship between lexical, reading and spelling skills in bilingual language minority children and their monolingual peers.

This study was conducted on a population of primary school children including bilingual language minority (BLM) children with L2-Italian and a variety of languages as L1 (e.g., Chinese, Albanian, Latin), and Italian-speaking monolingual children. The variety of languages ecologically reflects the nowadays composition of classes in the Italian school system. The aims were to investigate in both linguistic groups: (1) the developmental patterns of lexical, reading and spelling skills; (2) the pattern of predictive relations between lexical, reading and spelling skills. 159 primary school children from Grade 2 to Grade 5 participated in the study: BLM (n = 80) and monolingual (n = 79) children aged between 7 and 11 years. Each participant completed a vocabulary task (lexical skills), a text reading task (reading accuracy and reading speed) and a text dictation task (orthographic errors). ANOVA statistics showed the comparison of patterns between monolingual and BLM children in lexical, reading, and writing skills. Results show lower performances in lexical, reading and spelling skills in BLM children learning Italian as a second language compared to monolingual peers. Second, partial correlations performed separately for monolinguals and BLM with lexical ability as a control variable, illustrated that all variables correlated with each other in both groups. This result provides the option of performing hierarchical regressions. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses showed that the pattern of predictive relations between lexical, reading and spelling skills is the same across language groups, with the key role of orthographic accuracy as the pivotal process around which reading and lexical skills are built.

Prevalence and associated factors of myopia in children and adolescents in Russia: the Ural Children Eye Study

BackgroundTo assess the prevalence of myopia and the distribution of ocular axial length as surrogate for myopic refractive error in school children in a population in Russia.MethodsThe Ural Children Eye...

Study on the mental health of a population of school children from an epidemiological perspective

Study on the mental health of a population of school children from an epidemiological perspective

Feature selection and association rule learning identify risk factors of malnutrition among Ethiopian schoolchildren.

Previous studies have sought to identify risk factors for malnutrition in populations of schoolchildren, depending on traditional logistic regression methods. However, holistic machine learning (ML) approaches are emerging that may provide a more comprehensive analysis of risk factors. This study employed feature selection and association rule learning ML methods in conjunction with logistic regression on epidemiological survey data from 1,036 Ethiopian school children. Our first analysis used the entire dataset and then we reran this analysis on age, residence, and sex population subsets. Both logistic regression and ML methods identified older childhood age as a significant risk factor, while females and vaccinated individuals showed reduced odds of stunting. Our machine learning analyses provided additional insights into the data, as feature selection identified that age, school latrine cleanliness, large family size, and nail trimming habits were significant risk factors for stunting, underweight, and thinness. Association rule learning revealed an association between co-occurring hygiene and socio-economical variables with malnutrition that was otherwise missed using traditional statistical methods. Our analysis supports the benefit of integrating feature selection methods, association rules learning techniques, and logistic regression to identify comprehensive risk factors associated with malnutrition in young children.

Association between Non-Verbal Intelligence and Academic Performance of Schoolchildren from Taza, Eastern Morocco.

Interest in identifying factors influencing educational success is growing. It is often observed that a group of students share the same external variables (school environment) yet have different results, which states that individual variables have more impact on the determination of academic performance. Therefore, the present study aimed to substantiate this fact by investigating the association between non-verbal fluid intelligence and academic performance in a population of schoolchildren in Eastern Morocco. The investigation was a cross-sectional study based on a self-administered questionnaire. Items included the standard Raven’s progressive matrices. Students’ grades were collected from the administrative offices of the visited schools. Significant and positive correlations between the non-verbal intelligence scores and the school results were found: for the general average, the correlation was 0.574; for the school subject French, the correlation coefficient was 0.475; and for mathematics, we found a relatively low coefficient of 0.381. Non-verbal fluid intelligence significantly and positively predicted academic performance (β = .574, p = .000). These results call for policymakers to implement the use of intelligence tests with school directors and teachers as a diagnostic tool to guide support efforts for low-achieving children and even to create pilot classes for the best-performing students.

Prepulse Inhibition and P50 Suppression in Relation to Creativity and Attention: Dispersed Attention Beneficial to Quantitative but Not Qualitative Measures of Divergent Thinking

The current study investigated whether lower sensory and sensorimotor gating were related to higher levels of creativity and/or attentional difficulties in a natural population of primary school children (9- to 13-year-old). Gating abilities were measured with P50 suppression and prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex (PPI). The final sample included 65 participants in the P50 analyses and 37 participants in the PPI analyses. Our results showed that children with a high P50 amplitude to testing stimuli scored significantly higher on the divergent outcome measures of fluency and flexibility but not originality compared to children with a lower amplitude. No significant differences were found on any of the creativity measures when the sample was split on average PPI parameters. No significant differences in attention, as measured with a parent questionnaire, were found between children with low or high levels of sensory or sensorimotor gating. The data suggest that quantitative, but not qualitative measures of divergent thinking benefit from lower psychophysiological gating and that attentional difficulties stem from specific instead of general gating deficits. Future studies should take the effect of controlled attention into consideration.

Creating ‘good citizens’ through community policing: A study of youth police club in the colonial Hong Kong

This study examined the implementation of community policing in Hong Kong with reference from the evolution of the police youth club: Junior Police Call (JPC) programme which targetted the student population. The JPC was established in the 1970s and widely regarded as a very successful community policing initiative of the Royal Hong Kong Police (RHKP) to re-legitimise itself after the territory-wide social confrontation in 1966 and 1967. We analysed the reflection from JPC administrators and participants in a police district with a large school children population, to explore the strategy adopted by the police authorities to practice this community policing programme uncommon in colonial policing. Our study found the police strategically resocialized the youth with the collaboration with schoolteachers and local elites. However, the successful creation of ‘good citizens’ was still overshadowed by her concern for the emergence of social consciousness that might delegitimize the colonial governance.

A cognitive definition of computational thinking in primary education

There is increasing effort to integrate Computational Thinking (CT) curricula across all education levels. Therefore, research on CT assessment has lately progressed towards developing and validating reliable CT assessment tools, which are crucial for evaluating students' potential learning progress and thus the effectiveness of suggested curricular programs. Several CT assessment tools were developed for elementary, high-school, and university students over the last years. Moreover, associations between CT scores and other cognitive abilities were unraveled. However, studies on the topic in primary school level are scarce. Like the general concept of intelligence, CT remains broadly defined as the ability to combine algorithmic operations to form complex solutions in order to solve problems effectively, utilizing concepts of computer science with or without the use of computers. In this study, we aimed at specifying a cognitive definition of CT, focusing on the under-investigated population of primary school children. Since validated assessment tools for this age group were not available, we adapted a validated CT test, which was initially designed for middle school students. In our study participated 192 third and fourth graders. The analyses revealed promising results on the reliability of the adapted CT assessment for primary school students. Moreover, findings indicated CT's positive associations with i. complex numerical abilities, ii. verbal reasoning abilities, and iii. non-verbal visuospatial abilities. Our results indicate similarities but also differences in associations of CT with other cognitive abilities in primary school children compared to other age groups. In summary: i. numerical abilities seem to associate with CT at the primary school level, whereas this seems not the case later on in education, ii. verbal abilities seem to associate with CT both along primary and secondary education levels, and iii. non-verbal reasoning abilities seem to associate with CT from primary education level to the university level and beyond. These differences imply that several basic cognitive abilities support CT abilities and CT development differentially across ages.

Pengaruh Pendampingan Keluarga Terhadap Kecemasan Belajar Anak pada Pembelajaran Jarak Jauh Selama Pandemi Covid-19

Learning anxiety is an excessive feeling of being afraid of threats or felt during distance learning. In overcoming children's anxiety, one of the assistance efforts made is family support. Family support is an act of assisting to meet the needs and problem solving of children in order to support the optimization of children's development. In this study, researchers used quantitative descriptive as an approach. The research method used is an analytic survey while the type of research is cross sectional. In analyzing the data, researchers used univariate as a measuring tool and the Chi-Square test as bivariate. The population of elementary school children in grades 4-6 is 60 respondents and the sample is 60 respondents. The results of the bivariate test showed that there was a significant relationship between the independent variables, that the p value was 0.044 (p < 0.05), which means that there is an influence between family support and children's learning anxiety. In this study, the study analyzed that the Chi-Square test had 2 (two) most influential variables, namely family support and children's learning anxiety. The conclusion of this study is that there is a significant relationship between family support and children's learning anxiety. From this research, it is expected that children will learn with others so that children do not experience anxiety.

Is Gastrocnemius Tightness a Normal Finding in Children?: A Cross-Sectional Study of 204 Norwegian Schoolchildren.

Isolated gastrocnemius tightness has been associated with several foot conditions. We do not know whether gastrocnemius tightness is a normal finding in the developing child or whether tightness is associated with foot symptoms. Recurrent foot and leg pain is common in children, and more knowledge of gastrocnemius tightness is of interest. Passive ankle dorsiflexion was measured with the knee flexed and extended (Silfverskiöld test) in 204 Norwegian schoolchildren (408 feet). School classes from 4 different age groups were recruited (5 to 6 years, 8 to 9 years, 11 to 12 years, and 14 to 15 years). Footprints were also recorded in order to assess for any association between foot morphology and dorsiflexion results, specifically, gastrocnemius tightness. Ankle dorsiflexion decreased with increasing age. The thresholds for equinus contracture were set at either ≤5° or ≤0° of ankle dorsiflexion when measured with the knee extended, and the Silfverskiöld test was considered to be positive when ankle dorsiflexion was reduced by ≥10° from the flexed knee position to the extended knee position. The rate of gastrocnemius tightness was 54.9% if the threshold was set at ≤5° and only 3.7% if the threshold was set at ≤0°. The data did not provide evidence of an association between dorsiflexion and footprints. Ankle dorsiflexion decreased with increasing age in this population of schoolchildren, highlighting the importance of age-matched norms. A majority had a tight gastrocnemius when the ankle dorsiflexion threshold was set at ≤5°, indicating that isolated gastrocnemius tightness should not be interpreted as a pathological finding. Diagnostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Contribution to the estimation of the prevalence of food allergy in schoolchildren in the city of Guelma (Algeria)

GoalThe prevalence of food allergy has never been estimated in the city of Guelma (east Algeria). The goal in this work was to determine parent-reported prevalence of food allergy in a population of schoolchildren (5 to 13 years old). MethodsCross-sectional, random, questionnaire based survey was performed from 15th to 29th April 2018 among primary schools of Guelma. Six hundreds questionnaires were distributed in 8 schools of the city. ResultsThe return rate was 88% (528). Forty-five subjects were retained as having probable food allergy at a prevalence of 8.5% (95% CI 6.1–10.8). In total, 49% were boys and 51% girls with no significant difference (P=0.429). The average age of appearance of the potential allergy was 4.41±2.51 years. Among allergic children, 26.7% were aged from 5–7 years old, 64.4% had 8–10 years old and 8.9% had 11–13 years old. The main foods reported by the parents were: chocolate (1.7%), wheat (1.3%), milk (1.1%), eggs (1.1%), strawberry (1.1%), fish and beans (0.9%). The prevalence of the three symptoms according to the observations of the parents were cutaneous (68.6%), digestive (19.6%) and respiratory (11.8%). Among the allergic subjects, 66.6% had at least one of their parents atopic (P=0.0001). ConclusionThe prevalence of parent-reported food allergy in schoolchildren was assessed for the first time in the city of Guelma. It showed a prevalence of 8.5% with no significant difference between the boys and the girls. The main risk factor in the appearance of food allergy was the presence of family history with this pathology.

Monthly variations in mercury exposure of school children and adults in an industrial area of southwestern China

Recent studies have shown that rice consumption can be the major pathway for human methylmercury (MeHg) exposure in inland China. However, few studies have considered the susceptible population of school children's exposure through rice ingestion. In this study, monthly variations in total Hg (THg)/MeHg concentrations in rice, fish, hair, and urine samples were studied to evaluate the Hg (both THg and MeHg) exposure in Guiyang, a typical industrial area with high anthropogenic emission of Hg. A total of 17 primary school (school A) students, 29 middle school (school B) students, and 46 guardians participated in this study for one year. Hair THg, hair MeHg, and urine THg concentrations ranged from 355–413 ng g−1, 213–236 ng g−1, and 469–518 ng g−1 Creatinine (ng·g−1 Cr), respectively, and no significant differences were observed between different genders and age groups. Hair and urine Hg concentrations showed slightly higher values in the cold season (October to February) than the hot season (March to September), but without significant difference. High monthly variability of individual hair and urine Hg concentrations suggested that long-term study could effectively decrease the uncertainty. The school students showed significantly higher urine THg concentrations than adults due to children's unique physiological structure and behaviors. Probable daily intake (PDI) of MeHg via rice and fish ingestion averaged at 0.0091, 0.0090, and 0.0079 μg kg−1 d−1 for school A students, school B students, and their guardians, respectively, which means that 86%, 84%, and 87% of the PDI were originated from rice ingestion, respectively. Therefore, more attention should be paid to children as a susceptible population. The results indicated low risk of Hg exposure via rice and fish consumption for urban residents in a Chinese industrial city.

Efficacy of a Salt Iodization Program on Iodine Status and Intakes in Schoolchildren of São Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal

Introduction: Iodine is an essential micronutrient and its deficiency can severely impact children’s development. In 2012, the Thyroid Study Group of the Portuguese Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism discovered that the median urinary iodine concentration (mUIC) level in schoolchildren of São Miguel was far too low at 70.9 μg/L. In response, the government implemented a salt iodization program to help normalize levels. This investigation evaluated the efficacy of such an approach. Methods: Urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was evaluated in 362 schoolchildren from São Miguel using the fast colorimetric method. Results: mUIC was 106.7 μg/L, significantly higher than that observed in 2012 (p < 0.001). Over half (55.5%) of the schoolchildren had a UIC >100 μg/L versus 23.0% in 2012 (p < 0.001). 9.4% of schoolchildren had a UIC <50 μg/L, significantly lower than the 30.6% reported in 2012 (p < 0.001). Discussion/Conclusion: Five years after the implementation of the government salt iodization program, the mUIC increased from 70.9 to 106.7 μg/L. This study confirms the efficacy of the adopted measures in schoolchildren population.

INDIVIDUAL-TYPOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE ASSESSMENT OF MOTOR ACTIVITY AND FUNCTIONAL STATE OF SENIOR PRESCHOOL AND JUNIOR SCHOOL CHILDREN

Physical activity is of particular importance in the early stages of ontogenesis during the development and formation of the child's body. At the same time, recognizing the variability of motor activity in children of a healthy population, its assessment in the understanding of the norm is presented as an average indicator of the daily number of locomotions for a certain age and gender group, which does not allow us to fully characterize the individual typological features of this function. In this regard, the use of signal parametric scales is very controversial and new approaches to solving this problem are required. The aim of the work is to conceptually develop the centile distribution and partial density of motor activity in older preschoolers and younger schoolchildren in a healthy population with the identification of typological variants of individual norms and criteria for pre - nosological diagnosis of hyper-and hypokinesia. Materials and methods. 840 children of health groups I-II were examined (boys of senior preschool age-222 and primary school age-250; girls of senior preschool age-181 and primary school age-187). The study included the use of pedometry and visual assessment of children's behavior by teachers and parents. A personalized database was created based on the survey results. To identify differences in the level of distribution of a typical trait – habitual motor activity (HMA), a nonparametric test was used, taking into account Pearson's χ2 criterion. The functional type of constitution (FTC) was determined in accordance with a three – component scheme based on the level of habitual motor activity: low – LHMA-FTC–1, medium – MHMA–FTC–2 and high –HHMA-FTC–3. To solve this problem, we developed centile tables based on the daily number of locomotives (SCL) - the HMA level. At the same time, tables are proposed for the centile distribution of SCL both for the entire population of preschool and primary school children, and for children with low and high motor activity. Results. Analysis of the data and on this basis developed normative tables of centile distribution of motor activity (MA) allow typing of it is high enough differences among senior preschool children and Junior schoolchildren of the healthy population with the estimated number of daily locomotion (very low, low, medium, high, very high), to allocate the risk group of I order (up to the 3-rd centile and 97-th centile) and II (from the 3-rd to the 10-th centile and the 90-th to 97-th centile), and also give an objective description of the daily number of locomotions of each individual with the identification of such concepts as "optimal motor activity", "constitutional hypokinesia" and "constitutional hyperkinesia". Partial assessment of motor activity, taking into account the centile distribution of the number of daily locomotions in each constitutional group, provides additional opportunities to more reasonably approach the analysis of a critical (pre-nosological) decrease or increase in the optimality of motor activity in children with low and high MA. Conclusions. Senior preschool children and Junior school children of health groups I-II have their own individual and typological basic level of motor activity, which requires a comparative clinical and physiological analysis of the available data with the standard norm characteristic of each constitutional group (LHMA-FTC–1, MHMA-FTC–2, HHMA-FTC–3). Taking into account this approach, the development of normative (centile) tables of motor activity allows us to give not only a quantitative assessment of the basic variability of the physiological individuality of the child's body, but also to identify criteria for pre-nosological diagnosis of fairly common deviations in pediatric practice-hypokinesia and hyperactivity.

The association between back pain, individual determinants, and posture habits among schoolchildren in Iran

Back pain is considered as a public health problem and it may be predictive of adult disability, and is on the rise among the schoolchildren population. The aim of this study was to explore the association between back pain, posture habits and individual factors (knowledge, self-efficacy, beliefs, and behavior) among schoolchildren. A self-reported questionnaire was used to collect the demographics characteristics, individual factors, posture habits, and back pain. Chi-square test and binary logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between variables. Among 610 pupils, the prevalence of back pain was 23.6% (n = 144). There were 530 (86.9%) pupils that indicated that they had carried the school backpack of ideal posture. There were significant relationships between the sitting at work on the computer (p = 0.006, OR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.11-2.49) and on a chair (p = 0.021, OR = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.01 - 2.57) habits with back pain respectively. Self-efficacy significantly associated with back pain (p = 0.001). Similarly, individual factors significantly associated with posture habits. The findings suggest that back care educational programmes are needed to address individual factors in order to promote proper posture habits and reduce backache.