Objective To investigate the prevalence and related factors of behavioral problems among adolescents aged 12 – 16 years in Nanjing city of Jiangsu province, and to provide references for improving mental health of adolescents.
Methods A survey was conducted among 2 339 school students aged 12 – 16 years in Nanjing city with the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and a self-designed questionnaire on associated factors between March and May 2014. Logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze factors of behavior problems.
Results The overall detection rate of behavioral problems among the students was 17.6% and the rate was 18.5% and 16.8% among the male and female students. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that violent parenting style (odds ratio OR = 3.776, 95% confidence interval 95% CI = 1.436 – 9.930) was a risk factor for behavioral problems in the students; breastfeeding (OR = 0.611, 95% CI = 0.448 – 0.833), normal (OR = 0.446, 95% CI = 0.268 – 0.743) or better (OR = 0.511, 95% CI = 0.285 – 0.917) development status, very good at academic performance (OR = 0.261, 95% CI = 0.073 – 0.935), and democratic rearing style (OR = 0.485, 95% CI = 0.371 – 0.633) were protective factors against behavior problems in the students.
Conclusion The prevalence of behavioral problems was high and influenced by a variety of familial and social environment factors among adolescent students in Nanjing city. The results suggest that comprehensive measures should be taken to prevent behavioral problems among the students.
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