PREVALENCE OF BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS AMONG SCHOOL GOING CHILDREN IN SOUTH INDIA

Background: Children can have mental, emotional and behavioural problems that are real, painful and costly. These problems often can lead to development of disorders if neglected which are the sources of stress for children and their families, schools and communities. Aims & Objectives: To assess the prevalence of behavioral problems among school going children. Methodology: Researcher adopted quantitative approach and cross-sectional descriptive study. 1600 school going children screened by child behavior checklist and who fulfilled inclusion and exclusion criteria, were selected as samples by using a non-probability purposive sampling technique. Written informed consent was obtained from the parent and assent obtained from school going children. Results:210(13.13%) school going children had behavioral problems.In experimental group the mean behavioral problem score was 51.83 with SD of 9.75 and in control group the mean behavioral problem score was 53.26 with SD of 11.32. There is a significant difference between experimental and control group behaviour score. Conclusion:The study concluded that majority of the school going children had moderate level of behavioral problems. Regular screening of behavioral problems and early intervention help the school going children to cope and grow in a better way.