Assessment of some factors related to behaviour among preschool children

ABSTRACT

Detection of behavioural problems among preschool children is important in order to begin intervention before symptoms become difficult to alter. Children included in the study were of age 3-5 years, 181 were from Cairo and 126 from Zagazig preschool nurseries. A Behaviour Check List [B.C.L] consisting of 19 items of behaviour known to give rise to difficulties and a questionnaire concerning the personal, social and medical history of the mother and the child, were answered by the children mothers. Among the examined children 59.3% had no behaviour deviance [scored less than 10]; Cairo children were found to have higher level of problems than Zagazig children [46.4% and 32.5% respectively] and the difference was statistically highly significant. The behaviour problems mostly noticed were overactivity. Tempers, fads, poor appetite, dependency, attention seeking and sleeping with parents. Study of the factors related to the occurrence of these problems revealed that factors such as age of the child, birth order, number of children in the family and occurrence of complications during pregnancy had an effect on these problems while education and occupation of mothers had almost no effect