EXPLORING THE MENTAL HEALTH LANDSCAPE OF SCHOOL-GOING CHILDREN IN REMOTE AREAS OF BANGLADESH

Present study is an attempt to investigate the primary mental health challenges faced by school-going children residing in remote areas of Bandarban district of Bangladesh in relation to two demographic factors as gender and family type of them. Researchers adopted cross-sectional study design with the purposive sampling technique. The participants for this study were carefully selected from the Chakma and Marma school-going children in the Bandarban district. Sample included a total sum of 236 students, encompassing children enrolled in three schools namely, Matamohury girls High School, Alikadom; Bandarban Govt.Boys High School, Bandarban and Sangu High School, Hafezghuna, Bandarban. The specific inclusion criteria were limited to individuals aged 11 to 17 who were actively attending school. Survey was conducted with the help of Bengali version of Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire, originally developed by R. Goodman in 1997. Findings yielded that female student appeared with greater prevalence of mental health problems than their other counterparts and the difference was statistically not significant. Again, female students revealed that they have greater prevalence of emotional problems, hyperactivity problems and pro-social problems than male students. Considering family type, students from joint family background appeared with greater prevalence of mental health problems than students belong to nuclear families and the difference was statistically significant. Moreover, students belong to joint families revealed that they have greater prevalence of mental health problems including all the dimensions of it than students belong to nuclear families.