Association of life events with internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems among primary and secondary school students in a county of Yunnan province

LI Tunan; LIU Hong; CHEN Yahong; AN Weiwei; YANG Shaohong; TANG Yongquan; NI Junyu; MU Xiaodong; YANG Yunjuan

doi:10.11852/zgetbjzz2024-0983

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Chinese Journal of Child Health Care ›› 2026, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (3) : 307-313. DOI: 10.11852/zgetbjzz2024-0983

Psychological and Behavioral Development

Association of life events with internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems among primary and secondary school students in a county of Yunnan province

LI Tunan¹, LIU Hong², CHEN Yahong³, AN Weiwei², YANG Shaohong³, TANG Yongquan³, NI Junyu¹, MU Xiaodong⁴, YANG Yunjuan^1,2,4

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Objective To investigate the prevalence and influencing factors of internalizing and externalizing problems among primary and secondary school students in a county of Pu′er City, in order to provide a reference for the development of effective prevention and intervention strategies. Methods In December 2023, a random cluster sampling method was adopted to select 830 students from the fourth grade of primary school to the third grade of senior high school in the surveyed county.Data were collected using the student version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Event Check List, and a self-designed questionnaire.The current status and influencing factors of internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems among the students were analyzed. Results The detection rates of internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems were 21.33% (177/830) and 22.53% (187/830), respectively, with 11.20%(93/830) of students exhibiting both types of behavioral problems.Protective factors for externalizing problems included a moderate (OR=0.512) or calm maternal temperament (OR=0.451), while risk factors included poor family relationships (OR=7.181), abnormal interpersonal relationships (OR=2.112), and abnormal health adaptation scores (OR=1.668).Risk factors for internalizing problems included being female (OR=1.773), attending senior high school (OR=1.984), average family relationships (OR=2.400), interpersonal relationships (OR=2.117), experiencing punishment (OR=1.918), and abnormal health adaptation scores (OR=1.856). Conclusions A certain degree of internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems exists among primary and secondary school students, with life events significantly impacting their emotions and behaviors.Families and schools should pay greater attention to the relationship between life events and psychological behavioral issues.Targeted health education, prevention and intervention measures should be implemented based on the individual and group differences among children and adolescents.

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children and adolescents / life events / behavioral problems

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LI Tunan, LIU Hong, CHEN Yahong, AN Weiwei, YANG Shaohong, TANG Yongquan, NI Junyu, MU Xiaodong, YANG Yunjuan. Association of life events with internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems among primary and secondary school students in a county of Yunnan province[J]. Chinese Journal of Child Health Care. 2026, 34(3): 307-313 https://doi.org/10.11852/zgetbjzz2024-0983

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