ABSTRACT
Shift work and rotational shift schedule interrupt interaction of the parents with their children. As shift workers [nurses, midwives, enrolled nurses, nurse aid and operating rooms' technicians] are obliged to have shift words, the present study designed to assess the effects of their shift word on strengths and behavioral problems of their children, aged 7-12 years among shift workers of private and university hospitals in Tehran city. Using a cross sectional study design, 489 shift workers drawn from private and university hospitals in Tehran city were selected along with their children's teachers. Data were collected using Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ], specific to parents and teachers including scales of emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems and prosocial behaviors. All statistics were computed by the SPSS software using chi-square, logistic regression [stepwise method], and spearman and ANOVA tests. No significant relationships were found between parents' shift with strengths and difficulties problems of their children based on their self-reported questionnaire. It was revealed that some of demographic factors have significant correlations with the scales such as number of children and their gender with conduct problems, parents educational level, gender, their shift work schedule, history of physical/psychiatric diseases of children with emotional symptoms and parents' educational degree with hyperactivity/inattention, parents' gender. History of morning-evening and evening-night and rotational shifts with peer relationship problems and finally parents' gender and history of rotational shifts with prosocial behaviors. The study didn't demonstrate impact of shift work on behavioral problems of shift workers' children. However, behavioral and emotional problems of the children were correlated with some of their parents' demographic and job related factors which calls for considering it among shift workers of nursing profession