Association between Family Functioning, Child Emotional and Behavioral Problems, and Parental Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on people of all ages, especially children. This is a cross-sectional study in Thailand to explore the emotional and behavioral problems of school-aged children and associated factors during the lockdown. An online survey was conducted with 942 parents of school-age children. Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) scores showed that total difficulties and all subscale difficulties (hyperactivity, conduct problems, peer problems, and emotional problems) were increased, whereas prosocial behaviors were decreased in the pandemic period. The factors significantly associated with higher parental stress were higher emotional and peer problems after the COVID-19 outbreak, high family difficulty, and sleep problems. Sleep problems were associated with all children’s difficulties, except prosocial behavior. High score in family difficulty subscale was associated with increased emotional problems, whereas poor family communication was associated with increased hyperactivity. Appetite change was negatively associated with parental stress and some children’s difficulties. Higher household income, family time, physical activities, and recreational activities were associated with a decreased level of some difficulties and family functioning problems, but positively with an increase in the prosocial behavior of children. Additionally, higher screen time was associated with a higher level of hyperactivity, conduct problems, and poor family communication. This study demonstrated that Thai children were at high risk of developing mental health problems during the pandemic lockdown. We suggest that intervention to promote physical activities and reduce screen time is needed. Moreover, efficient monetary policy is urgently required. The limitations here include a recall bias with no baseline to compare and a potential selection bias due to parental selection and a webpage announcement

Bullying Victimization Moderates the Association between Social Skills and Self-Esteem among Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study in International Schools

Background. Bullying is a major school problem. Victims of bullying often experience low self-esteem, whereas social skills are positively associated with the level of self-esteem. This research examined whether the victim’s condition impacted their social skills and self-esteem. Methods. International school students in Thailand aged 13 to 18 years old completed the Olweus bullying questionnaire, social capital questionnaire (SC), social skills questionnaire (SS), adolescent discrimination index (ADDI), and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES). Moderation analyses and visual presentations were carried out using IBM SPSS ver. 22 and PROCESS, ver. 4.0. Results. A total of 102 students participated (63% female). The mean age of the participants was 16.57 (SD = 1.42). The number of victims was 16 (15.7%), the mean (SD) for the SC, SS, ADDI, and RSES was 7.82 (2.37), 44.45 (9.40), 12.33 (9.82), and 27.85 (5.31), respectively. As predicted, those with high social skills reported greater self-esteem when they had never been bullied. The moderation effect was significant: B = 0.458, standard error = 0.203, 95% CI = −0.836 to −0.054. Additionally, the ADDI and SC were found to predict self-esteem. Conclusions. The significant moderation effect suggests the importance of identifying the victim’s condition when the association between social skills and self-esteem is not observed (as expected) among school adolescents. A longitudinal study to confirm the causal relationship should be encouraged. Further research on providing appropriate interventions along with social skill training for the victim group is warranted

Psychological Factors Influencing Achievement of Senior High School Students

Numerous factors are proposed to affect high school students’ academic achievement; however, these factors may not reveal all possible causal relationships. This study conducted path analysis to examine the direct and indirect effects of interpersonal relationships, life satisfaction, self-esteem, anxiety, and depression on the academic achievement of senior high school students. Two hundred and eighty-five students from five schools in Chiang Mai, Thailand, aged 14–19 years, were included for data analysis. The fit indices of all models were in agreement with the empirical data. Anxiety levels had a significantly positive direct effect on achievement, whereas depression had a negative direct effect on achievement. Additionally, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and interpersonal relationships had negative indirect effects on depression and anxiety. A program that stimulates the optimal and appropriate level of anxiety may be useful. An appropriate level of anxiety appeared positively related to academic achievement, but a high level of anxiety relatively influenced the incidence of depression. Thus, encouraging self-esteem, interpersonal relationships, and life satisfaction can promote academic ability and decrease the risk of depression. Further well-designed and large sample-size studies should be conducted to confirm these findings. The interplay of all studied factors may account for the variation in academic achievement, depression, and anxiety of 11.60%, 42.80%, and 17.60%, respectively