Table 1
Comparisons of socio-demographic characteristics of mothers/caregivers and children according to primary and secondary schools in the prevalence study.
| Characteristics | Primary | Secondary | p (significance level) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mothers | 307 (91.9%) | 143 (88.8%) | 0.450 |
| Fathers | 24 (7.7%) | 16 (9.9%) | |
| Other family members | 1 (0.3%) | 1 (0.6%) | |
| Others | 2 (0.6%) | 1 (0.6%) | |
| Sex | |||
| Male | 178 (53.3%) | 79 (49.1%) | 0.378 |
| Female | 156 (46.7%) | 82 (80.9%) | |
| Race | |||
| Malay | 289 (86.5%) | 154 (95.7%) | 0.003*** |
| Chinese | 3 (0.9%) | 3 (1.9%) | |
| Indian | 40 (12.0%) | 4 (2.5%) | |
| Sikhs | 2 (0.6%) | 0 (0%) | |
| Family Type | |||
| Single | 1 (0.3%) | 0 (0%) | 0.863 |
| Married | 319 (95.5%) | 153 (95.0%) | |
| Divorce | 8 (2.4%) | 4 (2.5%) | |
| Death | |||
| (Father) | 6 (1.8%) | 4 (2.5%) | |
| Maternal/Female’s Carer Age | |||
| 20–29 | 12 (3.6%) | 0 (0%) | 0.000*** |
| 30–39 | 214 (64.1%) | 54 (33.5%) | |
| 40–49 | 103 (30.8%) | 90 (55.9%) | |
| 50–59 | 5 (1.5%) | 16 (9.9%) | |
| 60–69 | 0 (0%) | 1 (0.6%) | |
| Maternal Education | |||
| No Education | 1 (0.3%) | 1 (1.9%) | 0.000*** |
| Primary | 14 (4.2%) | 1 (0.6%) | |
| Secondary | 175 (52.4%) | 126 (78.3%) | |
| Tertiary | 141 (42.2%) | 30 (18.6% | |
| No information | 3 (0.9%) | 1 (0.6%) | |
| Maternal Working Status | |||
| Working | 228 (68.3%) | 86 (53.4%) | 0.004*** |
| Not working | 103 (30.8%) | 74 (46.0%) | |
| No information | 3 (0.9%) | 1 (0.6%) | |
| Child’s carer | |||
| Parents/Caregivers | 127 (38%) | 105 (65.2%) | 0.000*** |
| Other family members | 74 (22.2%) | 27 (16.8%) | |
| Babysitters | 81 (24.3%) | 16 (9.9%) | |
| Maid | 52 (15.6%) | 13 (8.1%) | |
| Monthly family Income | |||
| Low (<GBP 300) | 47 (14.1%0 | 30 (18.6%) | 0.214 |
| Middle (GBP 300–GB1200) | 187 (56.0%) | 93 (57.8%) | |
| High (>GBP 1200) | 100 (29.9%) | 38 (23.6%) | |
| Number of siblings | |||
| Less than 4 | 203 (60.8%) | 65 (40.4%) | 0.000*** |
| 4–6 | 119 (35.6%0 | 79 (49.1%) | |
| More than 6 | 12 (3.6%) | 17 (10.6%) |
[i] * significant p-value, p < 0.05.
** significant p-value, p < 0.01.
*** significant p-value, p < 0.001.
Table 2
Prevalence of parent, teacher and childreports of emotional and behavioral problems at baseline.
| Scores | Parent (n = 495) n (%) | Teacher (n = 432) n (%) | Children (n = 154) n (%) | p level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 410 (82.8) | 338 (78.2) | 133 (86.4) | 0.155 |
| Borderline | 43 (8.7) | 54 (12.5) | 15 (9.7) | |
| Abnormal | 42 (8.5) | 40 (9.3) | 6 (3.9) | |
| Emotional | ||||
| Normal | 409 (82.6) | 398 (92.1) | 135 (87.7) | 0.000*** |
| Borderline | 45 (9.1) | 17 (3.9) | 13 (8.4) | |
| Abnormal | 41 (8.3) | 17 (3.9) | 6 (3.9) | |
| Conduct | ||||
| Normal | 361 (72.9) | 364 (84.3) | 135 (87.7) | 0.001** |
| Borderline | 78 (15.8) | 42 (9.7) | 13 (8.4) | |
| Abnormal | 56 (11.3) | 26 (6.0) | 6 (3.9) | |
| Hyperactivity | ||||
| Normal | 435 (87.9) | 375 (86.8) | 136 (87.0) | 0.901 |
| Borderline | 35 (7.1) | 32 (7.4) | 11 (7.1) | |
| Abnormal | 25 (5.1) | 25 (5.8) | 9 (5.8) | |
| Peer Problem | ||||
| Normal | 312 (63.0) | 290 (67.1) | 125 (81.7) | 0.000*** |
| Borderline | 91 (18.4) | 102 (23.6) | 26 (16.9) | |
| Abnormal | 92 (18.6) | 40 (9.3) | 3 (1.4) | |
| Pro Social | ||||
| Normal | 425 (85.9) | 305 (70.8) | 118 (76.6) | 0.000*** |
| Borderline | 47 (9.5) | 75 (17.4) | 22 (14.3) | |
| Abnormal | 23 (4.6) | 52 (12.0) | 14 (9.1) | |
[i] TDS – Total Difficulties Scores.
* significant p-value, p < 0.05.
** significant p-value, p < 0.01.
*** significant p-value, p < 0.001.
Table 3
Mean and standard deviation of emotional and behavioral problems by gender at baseline.
| Scores | Parent (n = 495) m (sd) | Teacher (n = 432) m (sd) | Children (n = 154) m (sd) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | F | p level | Male | F | p level | Male | F | p level | |
| Total Difficulties | 9.0 (4.9) | 8.4 (5.1) | 0.180 | 9.3 (5.1) | 8.0 (5.0) | 0.007** | 10.1 (4.3) | 11.6 (4.9) | 0.045* |
| Emotional | 1.6 (1.7) | 1.9 (1.9) | 0.057 | 1.6 (1.8) | 1.6 (1.8) | 0.963 | 2.5 (1.7) | 3.4 (2.2) | 0.002** |
| Conduct | 1.7 (1.5) | 1.7 (1.5) | 0.543 | 1.4 (1.4) | 1.2 (1.4) | 0.114 | 2.4 (1.7) | 2.1 (1.3) | 0.199 |
| Hyperactivity | 3.4 (2.1) | 2.7 (1.9) | 0.001** | 3.4 (2.0) | 2.6 (2.1) | 0.000*** | 3.1 (1.8) | 3.6 (2.0) | 0.061 |
| Peer Relation | 2.4 (1.5) | 2.1 (1.4) | 0.005 | 2.9 (1.5) | 2.6 (1.5) | 0.076 | 2.2 (1.4) | 2.5 (1.4) | 0.231 |
| Pro-Social | 7.5 (1.9) | 7.5 (1.8) | 0.791 | 6.7 (2.2) | 7.3 (2.2) | 0.007** | 6.5 (1.7) | 6.9 (1.7) | 0.109 |
[i] Independent T Test.
* significant p-value, p < 0.05.
** significant p-value, p < 0.01.
*** significant p-value, p < 0.001.
Table 4
Mean and standard deviation of emotional and behavioral problems by age at baseline.
| Parents (n = 495) | Teachers (n = 432) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary n (%) | Secondary n (%) | p level | Primary n (%) | Secondary n (%) | p Level | |
| TDS | ||||||
| Normal | 268 (65.2%) | 143 (34.8%) | 0.005*** | 220 (65.3%) | 117 (34.7%) | 0.581 |
| Borderline | 29 (67.4%) | 14 (32.6%) | 34 (61.8%) | 21 (38.2%) | ||
| Abnormal | 37 (90.2%) | 4 (9.8%) | 23 (57.5%) | 17 (42.5%) | ||
| Emotional | ||||||
| Normal | 271 (66.3%) | 138 (33.7%) | 0.410 | 259 (65.1%) | 139 (41.2%) | 0.132 |
| Borderline | 32 (71.1%) | 13 (28.9%) | 7 (41.2%) | 10 (58.8%) | ||
| Abnormal | 31 (75.6%) | 10 (24.4%) | 11 (64.7%) | 6 (35.3%) | ||
| Conduct | ||||||
| Normal | 236 (65.4%) | 125 (34.6%) | 0.137 | 245 (67.5%) | 118 (32.5%) | 0.001** |
| Borderline | 54 (69.2%) | 24 (30.8%) | 17 (39.5%) | 26 (60.5%) | ||
| Abnormal | 44 (78.6%) | 12 (21.4%) | 15 (57.7%) | 11 (42.3%) | ||
| Hyperactivity | ||||||
| Normal | 285 (65.5%) | 150 (34.5%) | 0.042** | 238 (63.5%) | 137 (36.5%) | 0.210 |
| Borderline | 29 (82.9%) | 6 (17.1%) | 19 (59.4%) | 13 (40.6%) | ||
| Abnormal | 20 (80.0%) | 5 (20.0%) | 20 (80.0%) | 5 (20.0%) | ||
| Peer-Problem | ||||||
| Normal | 205 (65.7%) | 107 (34.3%) | 0.513 | 200 (69.0%) | 90 (31.0%) | 0.011* |
| Borderline | 63 (69.2%) | 28 (30.8%) | 55 (53.9%) | 47 (46.1%) | ||
| Abnormal | 66 (71.7%) | 26 (28.3%) | 22 (55.0%) | 18 (45.0%) | ||
| Pro-Social Skill | ||||||
| Normal | 285 (67.1%) | 140 (32.9%) | 0.887 | 188 (61.6%) | 117 (38.4%) | 0.102 |
| Borderline | 33 (70.2%) | 14 (29.8%) | 49 (65.3%) | 26 (34.7%) | ||
| Abnormal | 16 (69.6%) | 7 (30.4%) | 40 (76.9%) | 12 (23.1%) | ||
| Total | 334 | 161 | 277 | 155 | ||
[i] TDS = Total Difficulties Score.
Independent T Test.
* significant p-value, p < 0.05.
** significant p-value, p < 0.01.
*** significant p-value, p < 0.001.
Table 5
Mean differences across time for parent, teacher and child report scores at baseline and 6-month follow-up.
| Respondent Scores | Time 1 | Time 2 | P level | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | Standard Deviation | Mean | Standard Deviation | ||
| TDS | 8.73 | 4.887 | 8.64 | 5.147 | 0.765 |
| Emotional Problem | 1.76 | 1.785 | 1.77 | 1.787 | 0.939 |
| Conduct Problem | 1.69 | 1.446 | 1.55 | 1.434 | 0.146 |
| Hyperactivity Problem | 3.00 | 2.016 | 2.99 | 2.054 | 0.921 |
| Peer Problem | 2.28 | 1.433 | 2.33 | 1.541 | 0.641 |
| Pro-Social Skill | 7.41 | 1.832 | 7.24 | 2.000 | 0.164 |
| Teacher | |||||
| Total Difficulties Scores | 8.42 | 4.768 | 8.70 | 5.054 | 0.437 |
| Emotional Problem | 1.51 | 1.741 | 1.92 | 1.898 | 0.006** |
| Conduct Problem | 1.14 | 1.269 | 1.64 | 1.771 | 0.000**** |
| Hyperactivity Problem | 2.85 | 2.229 | 3.12 | 2.259 | 0.072 |
| Peer Problem | 2.57 | 1.511 | 2.70 | 1.652 | 0.187 |
| Pro-Social Skill | 7.41 | 2.196 | 7.05 | 2.061 | 0.012 |
| Children | |||||
| Total Difficulties Scores | 11.23 | 4.685 | 9.93 | 4.360 | 0.002** |
| Emotional Problem | 3.11 | 1.995 | 2.41 | 1.891 | 0.000*** |
| Conduct Problem | 2.23 | 1.469 | 1.97 | 1.401 | 0.055 |
| Hyperactivity Problem | 3.43 | 1.911 | 3.15 | 1.808 | 0.126 |
| Peer Problem | 2.46 | 1.447 | 2.41 | 1.363 | 0.716 |
| Pro-Social Skill | 6.83 | 1.540 | 6.58 | 1.797 | 0.165 |
[i] TDS = Total Difficulties Score.
Independent T Test.
* significant p-value, p < 0.05.
** significant p-value, p < 0.01.
*** significant p-value, p < 0.001.