Table 1 Major behavioral problems of children discussed in 30 key informant interviews
From: Perceived behavioral problems of school aged children in rural Nepal: a qualitative study
Reported major behavior problem (N = number of key Informants) | Signs and Symptoms (n = number of frequencies) | Causes (n = number of frequencies) | Effects (n = number of frequencies) |
|---|---|---|---|
Addictive behaviors including: drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes/marijuana (Kulat ma fasne) | Speak rudely or use foul language (17) | Unfavorable family environment (illiteracy, bad habits, addiction of parents, family discord) (14) | Family, teachers, friends and community views them negatively/don’t like them or care for them/demean them (17) |
(N = 17) | Fight with, threaten/beat friends, family, teachers, and community) (17) | Bad influence of friends (13) | Negative effects in their education (expulsion from school, failure in exams, discontinue education) (16) |
Roam around the neighborhood (14) | Parents don’t pay attention to their children (13) | Display other behavioral problems (involvement in criminal activities, become violent towards others) (12) | |
Become disobedient (9) | Lack of awareness (of parents and children) (10) | Negative effects in neighbors and community (loss of social cohesion, disturbance of peace) (10) | |
Steal other’s possessions (8) | Poverty (9) | Negative effects in the family (family discord, weaken economic condition of family) (9) | |
Stay out until midnight (8) | Due to favorable environment (availability of secluded area like forests, parent don’t care, allowances in castes and community) (9) | Their future becomes dark (8) | |
Don’t concentrate in their studies/don’t care about their studies (7) | Too much love and trust of parents towards their children (3) | Health gets worse (8) | |
Don’t go to school regularly/bunk classes and schools (10) | For fun (3) | Have to bear physical/verbal punishments (6) | |
Drop-out of school (6) | Feel humiliated, isolated, stressed and guilt (6) | ||
Form gangs (6) | Others don’t allow their children to socialize with them/avoid them (4) | ||
Get angry even on small matters (6) | Have to be involved in income generating activities (4) | ||
Tell lies (5) | |||
Try to look and behave nicely in front of others (3) | |||
Become arrogant (3) | |||
Wear rough/indecent clothes (3) | |||
Don’t care about daily activities (eating, cleaning) (3) | |||
Play cards outside (2) | |||
Walk around inebriated and reek of alcohol (4) | |||
Not paying attention to studies (drop-out, irregular school attendance, lack of interest in education) (Padhai ma dhyan nadine) | Show problems in school (don’t go to school regularly/bunk school and classes/ don’t pay attention to their studies/don’t do homework/disrupt classroom by making noise) (11) | Scarcity of teachers in the school (11) | Despised, disgraced and mistreated by others (10) |
(N = 11) | Wander around in the neighborhood at the time of school (7) | Lack of good family environment (parents are busy, parents cannot spare time for children, being orphan) (11) | Get caught up in bad habits (addiction, stealing) (7) |
Get angry/irritated and talk back to others (6) | Weak economic condition and not being able to fulfill the need and demands of children (9) | Be bad influence to youngsters (4) | |
Disobey family members and teachers (11) | Spoilt by parents (too much love, fulfilling excessive demands) (8) | Fail in exams/ruin education (5) | |
Fight with friends or don’t care about them (6) | Lack of awareness/education of parents (7) | Have to be involved in labor work (4) | |
Lie to parents and teachers (4) | Bad influence of friends (6) | Bleak future (3) | |
Get caught up in bad habits (4) | Lack of good environment in the community (3) | Feel bad or depressed (3) | |
Don’t speak properly with others (3) | Exploitation of communication/technology (2) | Make parents worried (2) | |
Not afraid of teachers (2) | Disciplining by teachers (2) | Not stay at home for long (2) | |
Donning undesirable fashion (long hair, earring) (2) | |||
Vandalizing other’s properties (2) | |||
Don’t take care about personal hygiene (2) | |||
Get angry easily and fight over small issues (Sano kurama risaune/jhagada garne) | Become aggressive in small matter (7) | Unfulfilled needs/desire (7) | Hinders their studies (drop out, get expelled from school) (7) |
(N = 7) | Lack of interest in studies (6) | Carelessness, illiteracy of the family members (6) | Community view them and their family negatively (6) |
Speak rudely/talk back and argue with others (4) | Lack of congenial family environment (discord, addictions, bad behavior of parents) (6) | Increase in emotional problems (feeling anxious, tensed, thinking too much) (4) | |
Not listening to other’s advice (3) | Due to bad influence of friends (4) | Increase in aggressive behaviors (4) | |
Done undesirable fashion (wear earrings, color hair) (3) | Parents don’t enrolled their children in schools (4) | Have to bear reprimands from parents (3) | |
Become involved in addictive behaviors (3) | Because they are teenagers (3) | Have to be involved in lawsuits (2) | |
Form groups/gangs (3) | Due to fights between friends (2) | Affect others due to one’s actions (2) | |
Emulating others (2) | Discord in the family (2) | ||
Biological reasons (heredity, hormones) (2) | |||
Early marriage (2) | |||
Disobedience (Atteri) | Don’t listen to others (5) | Poor economic condition (7) | Affects their studies (7) |
(N = 7) | Become aggressive and quarrel with others (5) | Spoilt (due to good economic condition and over indulgence) (4) | No one will like them/view them negatively (6) |
Talk about indecent things (4) | Parents don’t take good care of their children (4) | scolding and beatings by other (3) | |
Say whatever comes to mind (4) | Parents beat children after drinking alcohol (3) | Increase in negative thoughts (3) | |
Lack of interest in studies/don’t do homework (4) | Children try to emulate others (3) | Don’t focus on their daily activities (2) | |
Try to circumvent/make excuses for tasks given to them (4) | Don’t do homework (2) | ||
Are arrogant and brag (3) | Heredity (2) | ||
Steal (3) | |||
Are not afraid of teachers (3) | |||
Vandalize other’s properties (2) | |||
Mischievous (2) | |||
Are disruptive in classroom (2) | |||
Get influenced easily (2) | |||
Stealing (Chorne) | Steal (from home and community) (4) | Weak economic condition of family (3) | Could become a criminal (thief)/could be jailed (3) |
(N = 3) | Argue with parents/become disobedient (4) | Family incapable of convincing them (3) | Parents of friends don’t allow their children to socialize with them (3) |
Bunk school (3) | Peer influence (2) | Are disgraced by their family (2) | |
Consume alcohol/cigarette (3) | Parents don’t provide good care to the children (2) | Community view them negatively (2) | |
Argue with community members (2) | Have bleak future (2) | ||
Don’t concentrate on their studies (2) |