Primary Schoolchildren’s Difficulties at School Following the Multiple Crises: A Single Center Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose. This study aims to evaluate schoolchildren's strengths and difficulties following crises. Methods. A pilot cross-sectional study was carried out over two months (April – May 2023) using a standardized questionnaire for data collection. A convenient sample of 130 students was recruit...

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Main Authors: Hiba Abdo, Mouna Chehabeddine, Hiba Chehabeddine, Inaam Nasrallah, Assem El-Kak, Georges Hatem
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University 2024-04-01
Series:Educational Challenges
Subjects:
Online Access:https://educationalchallenges.org.ua/index.php/education_challenges/article/view/207
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author Hiba Abdo
Mouna Chehabeddine
Hiba Chehabeddine
Inaam Nasrallah
Assem El-Kak
Georges Hatem
author_facet Hiba Abdo
Mouna Chehabeddine
Hiba Chehabeddine
Inaam Nasrallah
Assem El-Kak
Georges Hatem
author_sort Hiba Abdo
collection DOAJ
description Purpose. This study aims to evaluate schoolchildren's strengths and difficulties following crises. Methods. A pilot cross-sectional study was carried out over two months (April – May 2023) using a standardized questionnaire for data collection. A convenient sample of 130 students was recruited from a private school and included in this study. A comparison between groups was carried out on several factors: conduct problems, peer problems, emotional score, hyperactivity, and total difficulties scores. Bivariate analyses were conducted, in which the dependent variables were age, sex, and difficulty scores. Results. A significant risk for peer problems (32.2%) and emotional symptoms (22.2%) was noted among the participants. A substantial risk of clinically significant problems was associated with hyperactivity. Girls presented an increased risk of clinical problems (46.9%) associated with their emotional symptoms, significantly higher than males (25%; p=0.015), resulting in significantly more clinical problems associated with their total difficulties score compared to boys (32.3% versus 15.1%; p=0.031). Overall, most students (90.9%) had no significant problems. However, 5% had a slightly low prosocial scale, and 4.1% had lower scores, reflecting a high probability of substantial clinical risk. Conclusion. The crises in Lebanon have exacerbated existing inequalities in access to education, leading to or exacerbating school difficulties. Findings reflected the influence of parents and the school on the children’s academic performance and psychological well-being and highlighted the need for providing additional support to schools and investing in mental health services for students.
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spelling doaj.art-8e277c0435744aadba3d8fca50ed21da2024-04-21T18:02:12ZengH.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical UniversityEducational Challenges2709-79862024-04-0129192710.34142/2709-7986.2024.29.1.01208Primary Schoolchildren’s Difficulties at School Following the Multiple Crises: A Single Center Cross-Sectional StudyHiba Abdo0https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5590-8055Mouna Chehabeddine1https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3926-9558Hiba Chehabeddine2https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9054-6574Inaam Nasrallah3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7037-9269Assem El-Kak4https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1661-0459Georges Hatem5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0964-9722Lebanese University, Hadath, Lebanon.Lebanese University, Hadath, Lebanon.Lebanese University, Hadath, Lebanon.Lebanese University, Hadath, Lebanon.Lebanese University, Hadath, LebanonLebanese University, Hadat, Lebanon; University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.Purpose. This study aims to evaluate schoolchildren's strengths and difficulties following crises. Methods. A pilot cross-sectional study was carried out over two months (April – May 2023) using a standardized questionnaire for data collection. A convenient sample of 130 students was recruited from a private school and included in this study. A comparison between groups was carried out on several factors: conduct problems, peer problems, emotional score, hyperactivity, and total difficulties scores. Bivariate analyses were conducted, in which the dependent variables were age, sex, and difficulty scores. Results. A significant risk for peer problems (32.2%) and emotional symptoms (22.2%) was noted among the participants. A substantial risk of clinically significant problems was associated with hyperactivity. Girls presented an increased risk of clinical problems (46.9%) associated with their emotional symptoms, significantly higher than males (25%; p=0.015), resulting in significantly more clinical problems associated with their total difficulties score compared to boys (32.3% versus 15.1%; p=0.031). Overall, most students (90.9%) had no significant problems. However, 5% had a slightly low prosocial scale, and 4.1% had lower scores, reflecting a high probability of substantial clinical risk. Conclusion. The crises in Lebanon have exacerbated existing inequalities in access to education, leading to or exacerbating school difficulties. Findings reflected the influence of parents and the school on the children’s academic performance and psychological well-being and highlighted the need for providing additional support to schools and investing in mental health services for students.https://educationalchallenges.org.ua/index.php/education_challenges/article/view/207schoolchildrendifficultiesparentslebanonschools
spellingShingle Hiba Abdo
Mouna Chehabeddine
Hiba Chehabeddine
Inaam Nasrallah
Assem El-Kak
Georges Hatem
Primary Schoolchildren’s Difficulties at School Following the Multiple Crises: A Single Center Cross-Sectional Study
Educational Challenges
schoolchildren
difficulties
parents
lebanon
schools
title Primary Schoolchildren’s Difficulties at School Following the Multiple Crises: A Single Center Cross-Sectional Study
title_full Primary Schoolchildren’s Difficulties at School Following the Multiple Crises: A Single Center Cross-Sectional Study
title_fullStr Primary Schoolchildren’s Difficulties at School Following the Multiple Crises: A Single Center Cross-Sectional Study
title_full_unstemmed Primary Schoolchildren’s Difficulties at School Following the Multiple Crises: A Single Center Cross-Sectional Study
title_short Primary Schoolchildren’s Difficulties at School Following the Multiple Crises: A Single Center Cross-Sectional Study
title_sort primary schoolchildren s difficulties at school following the multiple crises a single center cross sectional study
topic schoolchildren
difficulties
parents
lebanon
schools
url https://educationalchallenges.org.ua/index.php/education_challenges/article/view/207
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