Risk and Protective Factors of Emotional and Behavioral Problems in School Children: A Prevalence Study

A sample of 5053 school children (51% girls and 49% boys) with the age range of 13-17 (M = 14.40, SD = 1.25) from 43 government schools in the city of Lahore were selected through multistage sampling method. An indigenously developed School Children Problems Scale (SCPS; Saleem & Mahmood, 2011) was used as a self report measure to determine the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems of children. Going by the intensity measure on the total of SCPS 31% participants fell in the severe category (one standard deviation above the mean) of these 16% fell in the very severe category (two standard deviations above the mean). By the frequency count, 21% of the sample scored above the 90th percentile. The most frequently reported problem was Anxiousness (16%) followed by Feelings of Rejection (15%) and Academic Problems (15%). Results are discussed in terms of the manifestation of emotional and behavioral problems in school children in traditional and collectivistic cultures, and their relationship with social demographic factors was also explored.